[truyện Tiếng Anh] Into The Lair

Author : Maya Banks

Katie Buchanan stared at the clock with growing dread. A knot of panic—and grief—swelled in her stomach until she feared vomiting.
He wasn’t going to call.
Despair rolled over her shoulders, and she slumped forward, dropping her head into her arms. Don’t cry. You can’t cry. You can’t lose it now.
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. Gabe was all she had left. Her only family. And now he was gone.
You don’t know that. Maybe something went wrong on a mission.
But no, he’d missed both call times, and he’d never missed the second. He once told her that the only reason he would miss his check-in was death. His. And in her heart she knew that. He’d never let her down.
The cell phone that was clutched tightly in her hand rang, and she lunged upward, grabbing at it to flip it open.
“Gabe, thank God!” she babbled into the phone as a rush of relief so strong it made her weak stormed through her veins. “I thought you were dead.”
Heavy silence settled over the line. Her brow furrowed as dread took hold once more. “Gabe?”
“Katie, this is Ian Thomas.”
She slammed the phone shut, fear-induced adrenaline sparking and flowing fast through her veins. She scrambled out of her chair and looked wildly around the tiny apartment.
“Okay, calm down,” she said as she tried to steady her breathing. No one had that number. Gabe had arranged for the high-tech phone, and it had an international number...

 

Into the Lair
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Chapter One

Katie Buchanan stared at the clock with growing dread. A knot of panic—and grief—swelled in her stomach until she feared vomiting.

He wasn’t going to call.

Despair rolled over her shoulders, and she slumped forward, dropping her head into her arms. Don’t cry. You can’t cry. You can’t lose it now.

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. Gabe was all she had left. Her only family. And now he was gone.

You don’t know that. Maybe something went wrong on a mission.

But no, he’d missed both call times, and he’d never missed the second. He once told her that the only reason he would miss his check-in was death. His. And in her heart she knew that. He’d never let her down.

The cell phone that was clutched tightly in her hand rang, and she lunged upward, grabbing at it to flip it open.

“Gabe, thank God!” she babbled into the phone as a rush of relief so strong it made her weak stormed through her veins. “I thought you were dead.”

Heavy silence settled over the line. Her brow furrowed as dread took hold once more. “Gabe?”

“Katie, this is Ian Thomas.”

She slammed the phone shut, fear-induced adrenaline sparking and flowing fast through her veins. She scrambled out of her chair and looked wildly around the tiny apartment.

“Okay, calm down,” she said as she tried to steady her breathing. No one had that number. Gabe had arranged for the high-tech phone, and it had an international number from a remote country at the ends of the earth.

It started ringing again, and she nearly hyperventilated. And then as quickly as panic had gripped her, an eerie calm descended.

Gabe was gone. He couldn’t help her now. He hadn’t spent the last several years teaching her independence for her to crumble when he was no longer around to help her pick up the pieces.

First she had to get the hell out of here.

She went through the room, throwing her clothes into a backpack. She only packed the necessities. Everything else would have to stay. The phone began ringing again, and she ignored it.

She pocketed the ATM card for the account Gabe had opened for her. Her first stop would be to drain what cash she could, and then she’d be out of town in less than an hour.

West. She’d go west. Maybe some isolated mountain town. Montana. Or Colorado. There had to be some place she would be safe.

She zipped up her backpack, her heart heavy. Gabe had been working on getting her out of the country. A year ago, he’d been prepared to take her to Argentina, but then things had gotten weird. He’d become distant. Worried and anxious.

Her departure was delayed, and Gabe became more paranoid, more cautious. She moved constantly, once every couple of months, and he’d enacted their call system.

He drilled into her over and over what to do if he failed to make his monthly call. Oh God. Maybe that was it! Was he testing her? Making sure she followed through with their escape plan?

A flutter of hope swelled in her throat. It would be just like Gabe to force her through the steps of a plan they’d gone over until it was branded into her mind.

She snagged the now-silent phone, hauled her backpack over her shoulder, and then, taking one last look at the apartment that had been home for the last two months, she took a deep breath and started for the door.

Early morning sunlight shone bright, causing her to squint as she hustled down the rickety steps toward the street. As she turned onto the cracked sidewalk, a black SUV pulled to a stop alongside her.

The passenger door opened, and a large man stepped out. She froze as they stared at each other. Slowly, he removed dark sunglasses, giving her a glimpse of deep green eyes. His expression was indecipherable.

Power radiated from those broad shoulders. Tall, muscular and intimidating as hell.

“Katie,” he said in a low voice.

Anger, fear, panic. They all swamped her, and she didn’t wait around to figure out which would prevail.

Dropping her backpack, she turned and ran.

Curses rang out behind her, and then he called out to her. “Katie! Katie, wait!”

God, they knew who she was. Bile rose in her throat. Gabe wasn’t testing her, and he hadn’t warned her. Which meant he hadn’t been able to.

She could hear her pursuer behind her, and he was gaining ground. She threw a look over her shoulder and wished she hadn’t. Two men were closing in on her.

Her chest on fire, she pushed herself harder, faster. Her tennis shoes pounded the pavement. The park loomed ahead of her, a study in lush green grass and playground equipment. The men chasing her wouldn’t want to take her down with a dozen children and their mothers looking on.

She turned onto the jogging trail and poured on the speed. To anyone else, she’d look like she was out for a run. She was dressed the part in athletic shorts, T-shirt and tennis shoes.

Her phone and ATM card, all she needed, were in her pocket, and she reached down to make sure the phone didn’t fall out. When she got to the other side of the park, she chanced another glimpse behind her and nearly fainted with relief. They weren’t there.

Not that she could count on them to be gone for long. They’d find her again. She’d been a fool to ever think Ricardo would forgive the fact that she’d killed his brother.

Chapter Two

“Piece of cake, huh?” Braden Thomas snorted derisively as he and his brother Ian drove down yet another street paralleling the park. “This was supposed to be a simple extraction. We show up, she falls gratefully into our arms and we haul out of the country.”

Ian ground his teeth as he contemplated the pleasure he’d take in shoving Braden out of the moving vehicle.

“It’s your damn fault,” Ian growled. “You had to barrel out of the truck and scare her shitless. What the hell was she supposed to think?”

Braden snorted. “Yeah, like you did any better on the phone? She hung up before you finished telling her your name.”

“Spooky flake,” Ian muttered. “I’m not convinced she’s worth all this trouble. We’re risking a lot to fulfill a promise to a guy who betrayed us.”

Even as the thought crossed his mind, a wave of grief consumed him. Gabe was gone. Yeah, he’d betrayed his team, and that was hard to swallow. They’d been through a lot together. But until he knew the full truth behind Gabe’s defection, he couldn’t bring himself to condemn a man he’d called friend for so many years.

“Yeah, but if we have her, sooner or later, Esteban will come calling. We’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

Ian nodded. Braden had a point. They’d talked it over with Eli and with Falcon, and it was decided that Katie was too good an angle not to exploit. Worst case scenario, they were stuck babysitting for a few weeks. Best case scenario, they nailed Esteban and could then send Katie Buchanan on her way.

Where the hell was she? She’d taken off like a scalded cat, and she was damn fast. He had to give her that. He would have caught her, but in the midst of the chase, he’d felt the prickle up his spine, a sign he was fast ociating with the need to shift.

His heart had damn near pounded out of his chest, and vivid images of a cat stalking its prey had come to mind. He’d been just a few seconds from transforming to jaguar. He would have hunted her and probably killed her.

A resigned sigh escaped him, and Braden cast a sidelong glance at him.

“You okay, man?”

Ian grunted in return. He didn’t want to admit to Braden how close he’d come to losing control. They both battled the beast on a daily basis.

“Something happened back there, Ian.”

Ian raised an eyebrow and stared over at his brother in question.

Braden’s face twisted into a scowl. “When I was running after her…it was as if I was the cat and she was the prey, only I didn’t have an urge to hurt her. Just the opposite. I can’t explain it,” he finished lamely.

Ian frowned. It was similar to the way he’d felt, not that he was about to admit that to Braden. But he wasn’t so sure that he wouldn’t have hurt her. “Maybe you need another injection. We should go back to her apartment and see if she shows.”

He glanced down at the bag Katie had dropped. They’d go back to her apartment and wait inside. He could give Braden an injection and hope to hell he held out until he could take one himself later. While they waited, he’d poke around and see what he could discover about Gabe’s little sister. And figure out her next move.

***

Katie stood at the ATM and jammed the cash into her pocket. Stupid daily limits pissed her off. She’d need to make several more withdrawals before she’d have enough money to fund her getaway. In the meantime, she had no choice but to get the hell out of town, no matter how dire her finances.

The evening air chilled her sweat-dampened skin, and she shivered. She’d been stupid to drop her pack, but then escaping the two men would have been more difficult carrying it. Warmer clothes would have to wait until she’d cleared town.

 

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She took off down the street, weighing her options. The bus station was too obvious. Airport even more so. Hitchhiking, though something she’d done in the past, gave her too much exposure, not to mention it was dangerous as hell.

A resigned sigh escaped her. Walking it was. She was in shape, thanks to rigorous workouts and training sessions. But fitness didn’t help with the cold. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t walked all damn day already.

Though heading west held certain appeal, she’d be better off going east, to some large city she could disappear in. Small towns made her too noticeable.

Some place warm. Florida sounded heavenly. But it left her too boxed in. Not enough escape options. Atlanta maybe? Anything beat the cold of Missouri.

St. Louis had seemed like a good idea when she’d arrived. How had they found her? She’d been so careful. Or so she’d thought.

She picked up her pace. A cab could take her out of the city. It would cripple her monetarily, but it would be worth it. She could pick up some light camping equipment and parallel the interstate south to Cape Girardeau. It would take her several days, but it would give her time to hit ATMs and build her cash flow. From Cape, she could buy a cheap vehicle and drive wherever she wanted to go.

Bolstered by her plan, she crossed a busy intersection and started looking for an available cab. Clutching her arms with her hands, she rubbed up and down to infuse much-needed warmth.

Note to self: Don’t relax your guard. Ever.

It was appropriate that at the moment she administered the reprimand, a man stepped in front of her, his hands flying out to grip her shoulders.

She lashed out with her foot and kicked him squarely in the balls. A harsh curse split her ears as he doubled over. She didn’t waste any time. Turning around, she launched into a full run.

Only to collide with a heavily muscled wall of male flesh. Steel bands wrapped around her none too gently. She reacted violently, kicking and flailing, but he didn’t loosen his hold.

Her eyes met his and she found fire. Angry determination glittered in his green eyes. Bracing herself, she reared back and rammed her head into his nose. Pain exploded through her skull, and her vision blurred.

To her dismay, he didn’t budge. If anything he crushed her tighter against him, and she whimpered in pain.

“I’ve had about all I can take from you,” he bit out.

She struggled harder as she fought the dizzying effects of her head-butt. She managed to wiggle enough to bring her knee up between his legs.

Fingers dug into her knee, squeezing until she yelped.

“You give me no choice, sweetheart,” he said grimly.

Before she had time to try and figure out that cryptic remark, she felt a prick against her shoulder. She went rigid in his arms, and fear hissed through her veins. Oh God, no. He’d drugged her.

His face swam in her vision, and she went slack against him. And then she heard another voice, close to her ear.

“We won’t hurt you, Katie. We’re here to help you.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and no matter how she fought the drug, it was too much. Everything went dark.

Chapter Three

Ian frowned as he stared down at Katie Buchanan. She lay on the seat, her body curled into a defensive posture even in sleep. Strain lined her forehead, and a frown tugged her lips downward. He reached down to touch the short blond wisps that lay raggedly on her neck. Then before giving it any thought, his finger traveled over her jaw to her lips where he smoothed the downward curve.

Her hair was an interesting ortment of lengths, like she cut it herself with no regard for appearance. The strands stuck out, each going a different direction, but on her it fit. She didn’t strike him as the sleek, always-styled type at all.

Hearing Braden behind him, he yanked his hand away and frowned in annoyance. His head ached like a mother, his eyes were crossing with fatigue, and yet he was standing here like a nimrod entertaining himself with her hairdo.

Grumbling to himself about psycho females, he gathered her limp body in his arms and hauled her out of the SUV. Braden walked ahead and opened the door to her apartment. They hadn’t wanted to risk getting a hotel room, and her apartment was unassuming.

Katie was an enigma. Cautious. Extremely so. Spooky as a bat, and she kept a very low profile. Looking around her apartment earlier, he’d discovered that she lived a very barebones existence. Odd for a woman. Did she know she was a target? Had Gabe warned her?

He shouldered his way into her small living room and gently laid her on the couch. Then he stepped away as Braden leaned in to check her pulse and peel back her eyelids.

“She’s going to have one hell of a bruise on her forehead,” Braden said as he straightened.

“She damn near broke my nose. You’ll forgive me if I’m not terribly sympathetic,” Ian said darkly.

“At least you aren’t walking funny and singing soprano,” Braden grumbled.

Ian grimaced and felt a sympathy twinge in the region of his groin. He’d seen how hard she’d kicked Braden in the balls. He’d be lucky if he ever fathered children after that.

“So what now?” Braden asked as he slumped down in one of armchairs.

Ian lowered himself into a chair as well and eyed his brother. “We get some damn sleep, and tomorrow we get the hell out of the country.”

“You call Eli yet?”

Ian frowned. “And when would I have had time to do that when we’ve been chasing the hellcat down all day?”

“And where are we taking her exactly?”

“You’re full of questions today, little brother.”

Braden grinned. “Am I annoying you?”

Ian scowled.

“Then my duty is done.”

“For someone who just got their balls relocated you sure are a cheerful son of a bitch.”

Braden shrugged. “Maybe I’m looking forward to being done with this. Makes me edgy being back in the good ole U.S. of A. I somehow doubt Uncle Sam will roll out the welcome mat, you know?”

Ian’s lips tightened. “Yeah, well ’em. We’ll be out of here tomorrow.”

“Going where?” Braden asked again.

Ian sighed. “Eli’s supposed to be working on it. Evidently Falcon has a few safe houses across Europe. I liked Argentina, but that’s ed now that Esteban knows where it is.”

“Isn’t the point of this exercise to lure Esteban?” Braden asked.

Ian nodded. “Yeah, but he’s not supposed to know he’s being lured. Going to Argentina would be tipping our hand, not to mention making us look like complete nimrods.”

Braden grew quiet for a moment. “Tell me something, Ian. Do you think this whole merger with Falcon is a good idea? I mean I know why Eli is there. Tyana’s fingers are wrapped tight around his nuts, and he’s content to be led around like a lapdog.”

Ian’s gaze narrowed. This was the first time he’d heard Braden express doubts about joining ranks with Falcon Mercenary Group. Their former team leader, Eli Chance, had fallen head over for Tyana Berezovsky, a member of Falcon, and with the way their hostage recovery team had gone to shit when they all turned into a bunch of unstable shifters, it made sense to team up with the merc group.

Eli wasn’t unstable, though. Resentment bubbled up before Ian could control it. He and Braden hadn’t been as lucky as Eli and Gabe. While the two other men had full control over their newfound abilities, Ian and Braden struggled with their instability on a daily basis.

Braden was watching him closely, and Ian tried to school his features. “Are you having doubts?” he asked Braden.

Braden looked thoughtful for a long moment. “Honestly? I don’t know. Too much has changed in too short a time. I don’t think Falcon will us, if that’s what you’re asking. I just wonder how we fit into the picture. I don’t like the idea of being some ing charity case and having their doctor shoved at us at regular intervals.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Ian muttered.

“Are we going to end up like Damiano?” Braden asked softly.

Ian swore under his breath. Damiano was a member of Falcon, and like Ian and Braden, a victim of the chemical agent that had changed them all into shifters. He was even more unstable than Ian and Braden, and if D’s future was their own, it wasn’t pretty.

Damn Esteban Morales. Damn him to hell. Ian glanced over at Katie again, and his resolve hardened. If she was their key to nailing Esteban’s , then he’d have no compunction about using her in any way necessary to achieve their means.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Ian said, ignoring Braden’s question. “You can take the couch. I’ll take Miss Psycho into the bedroom and make sure she isn’t going anywhere for the night.”

***

Katie came awake with a start. Her eyes flew open, and despite the fogginess surrounding her mind, she felt alert. Fear could do that to you. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she took stock of her situation.

 

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She tried to move and then froze, feeling rope around one wrist. The next thing she registered was the large body of a man next to her. The third thing she realized was that she was in her own bed in her apartment.

As far as what-the-fuck moments went, this was a big one.

Her eyes rapidly adjusted to the darkness, and she looked down again to see that she was tied to the man’s wrist. He was sound asleep, his soft, even breathing filling the room.

Then she frowned. There had been two of them. She remembered that much. Which meant that somewhere close, there was another one. As if one wasn’t enough to deal with.

She gritted her teeth then turned her attention to the rope binding her to the mountain of muscle lying next to her. With her free hand, she carefully slid her fingers under the neckline of her T-shirt and into the sports bra to find the tiny pocketknife underneath the curve of her right .

Dumb bastards hadn’t patted her down, but then why would they feel the need to search the poor defenseless little woman?

She pulled the razor-sharp blade free of the clasp with her teeth then ever so carefully, she lowered it to the length of rope between their wrists.

As it passed through the twines like butter, she gave herself a mental pat on the back for being prepared and making sure she kept the blade sharp. Gabe would be proud.

Deep sadness clogged her chest, pulling painfully at her heart. No, she wouldn’t think about him now. Later. When she was safe, she’d mourn. For now she had to make sure they didn’t both end up dead.

If it weren’t for the fact that she had no idea where the other guy was, she’d bolt out of bed and run. She’d have the element of surprise, and by the time sleeping dude figured out she was free, she’d be two blocks away.

Instead she inched her way off the bed. Slowly, carefully, moving the tiniest bit with each breath. Every time he stirred she froze. When he flinched, she held her breath. Until finally, she slid the remaining way.

Not wasting a moment, she hurried across the floor, damning the fact that the bastard had removed her shoes. She didn’t have time to find them.

She halted in the doorway to the living room when she saw the second man’s too-large body sprawled on her too-small couch. He didn’t appear to be sleeping as deeply as the man in her bed. Getting by him and out the door could be a problem.

She felt in her pockets and nearly cursed aloud. All her cash was gone. She trembled with rage and curled her fingers into tight fists at her sides. Her bankcard was gone along with her cash.

Tears of frustration burned her eyes, pissing her off even more as she made her way quietly across the living room floor.

Her hand was on the knob, and she held her breath as she made her bid for freedom.

“Tell me you aren’t going to make me chase your across town again.”

She yanked her head toward the couch to see the man leaning up on one elbow, staring balefully at her. Foregoing any attempt at stealth, she threw open the door and bolted into the night.

The pounding of footsteps behind her told her that she was being pursued. She put her head down and turned on the speed. At the end of the block, she darted across the deserted street and veered away from the direction of the park. They’d expect her to go the familiar route.

She’d only gone another block when she heard the groan of an engine. As she went to cross another street, the squeal of tires sounded deafeningly close, and she pulled up short just in time for a silver Mercedes to careen in front of her.

A man jumped from the driver’s seat, and even in the dark, his identity was unmistakable.

Fear, vicious and stark, pooled in her stomach and swelled outward until nausea overwhelmed her.

“Katie, my love. Out for a late-night jog? I’ve always thought you were in impeccable shape, but one would think you were running from someone. Surely not me? We have a lot to clear up, you and me.”

She stared dully at Ricardo de la Cruz. It was only a matter of time before he showed up. His henchmen had sat on her long enough for him to arrive.

Cocky and arrogant as ever. His perfect white teeth flashed in the glare of the streetlights. His smile was sinister, with the promise of retribution. If only she’d killed him instead of Paulo.

Bitterness welled in her mouth, hard to swallow.

She turned to run when a strange sound shattered the night. Her entire body jerked and went stiff as agony fired through every one of her nerves. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. So much pain. She was on fire.

For a moment, she stood locked in the grip of hell, her body refusing to respond to her commands. As she stared into the darkness, she saw the man who’d chased her from her apartment standing in the shadows a distance away.

His expression wasn’t one of triumph, however. Concern creased his brow, and he looked angry.

Then she sagged to the ground, gasps of pain spilling from her mouth. Desperately, she sucked in air, trying to drag more into her lungs. Lungs that felt as though they’d been torched.

Rough hands hauled her up. Fingers twisted in her hair, yanking her head back. She found herself staring into Ricardo’s handsome face right before his spit hit her on the cheek.

“You will pay for killing my brother, whore.”

Chapter Four

Tyana Berezovsky awkwardly made her way down the hallway to Jonah Pearson’s office. The going was slow, thanks to the crutches and heavy cast encasing her right leg.

She faltered for a moment when she got to the door but regained her footing and shoved the door open with one crutch.

Jonah looked up as she entered. “Should you be up and around?”

She glared and hobbled forward. When she got to his desk, she leaned on one crutch and brought the other one up until she prodded his chest with the rubber tip. Jonah glanced down at the crutch then back up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ve got to do something about Eli. He’s driving me insane.”

Jonah shoved the crutch away and smirked at her. “Eli is your problem. Not mine.”

Tyana sagged into a chair and dropped the crutches with a clatter. “Surely you can find something for him to do?” She frowned at the pleading note in her voice. She sounded desperate.

Hell, who was she kidding? She was desperate.

Jonah chuckled. “It was your idea to fall in love with the guy.”

She closed her eyes. No, it wasn’t her idea. If she’d had a choice, she wouldn’t have waded into all those messy emotions.

It was one thing to be accountable to herself and to her team. She could deal with that just fine. But now she was accountable to someone else. Someone she was emotionally involved with. In short, it sucked.

“He’s smothering me,” she grumbled. “I can’t take a piss without him hovering.”

Jonah put his fingers together at his chin and stared hard at her. “As much as you know I don’t love to play armchair psychologist, may I point out that A. the guy loves you, and B. he damn near lost you. He’s entitled to hover a bit.”

She closed her eyes and groaned. “Jonah, please. There has to be something you can give him to do just for a couple of days. You’re supposed to be bringing him into Falcon. Isn’t there some bullshit ignment you can throw at him? Have him go make the arrangements for the safe house for Ian and Braden. Something, anything. I just need him out of my hair for a little while or I’m going to pull it all out.”

He studied her for a long moment. She was begging, and she knew it wasn’t a pretty sight. She never begged for anything. Maybe he sensed her desperation, not that it would take much brilliance to figure out she was at the end of her rope, because he sighed and leveled a resigned eye roll in her direction.

“I’ll see what I can do, Ty. But damn it, Eli isn’t my problem. He’s yours. I’d thank you to remember that in the future.”

She grinned. “If I could get up, I’d hug you.”

He managed a look of horror. “You’ve gotten soft on me. You fell in love, and it turned your brain to mush.”

“Could we stop going on and on about the L-word?”

Jonah shrugged. “You’re going to owe me one for this, and don’t think I won’t collect from your invalid .”

She nodded and made a grab for her crutches only to realize she couldn’t reach to the floor from her chair. She shifted and reached again only to come up short.

“Damn it,” she muttered.

“Problem?” Jonah asked with ill-suppressed humor.

She flipped her middle finger at him as she strained with her other hand to snag her crutch.

“And you wonder why Eli is hovering,” Jonah said dryly as he walked around the desk. He bent and picked up her crutches and then handed them to her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

She heaved herself upward, sweat breaking out on her forehead as she bobbled. Her continued weakness bugged the hell out of her. She was ready to be a hundred percent again.

 

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Jonah caught her arm to steady her and frowned. “Might I suggest you stay off your feet for a while longer? You’re clearly not ready to be up and around so damn much.”

Tyana sighed. “Now you sound like Eli.”

“Heaven forbid.”

She hobbled toward the door, ignoring his sarcasm. Up to now he hadn’t fussed over her much, and he hadn’t cut her any slack. Just the way she liked it.

“Don’t you get soft on me, Jonah,” she said when she got to the door. She turned to look at him. “I much prefer you being the big hole.”

He lifted one brow. “And you expect me to do you a favor?”

She winced. “Yeah well, forget the hole part.”

He smiled again. “Don’t let the door hit you on the on the way out.”

Chapter Five

A sharp slap to her face brought Katie awake. She tried to raise a palm to her stinging cheek, but rough hands gripped her wrists, holding her immobile.

Ricardo stood in front of her as two men hauled her to her feet. Annoyance ticked his cheek even as satisfaction carved a smile on his sensual lips.

He was an extraordinarily handsome man, as Paulo had been. Olive, sun-kissed skin, raven hair and startling blue eyes, crystal clear, like a Caribbean sea.

She wanted to laugh at the idea that she was standing here, waiting to die and remarking on the beauty of the man holding her life in his hands.

Instead of striking her again, he cupped her cheek in his palm and lightly caressed her skin.

“Paulo was a fool to think he could ever tame you,” Ricardo murmured. “He was too weak, too trusting. You unmanned him in every way.”

She had to bite her tongue to keep from retorting. Let him bait her. She wasn’t going to give him a reason to hit her again.

His fingers trailed down her skin and hooked into the neckline of her tank top. He slid his palm inside, cupping her . Every muscle in her body tensed. She couldn’t control the shudder of revulsion, and it angered him.

“I, on the other hand, am more than capable of bringing you to heel,” he said silkily.

Bile rose in her throat. He didn’t mean to kill her at all. Merely make her wish for death.

“Take her upstairs and make her bathe.” He withdrew his hand and stepped back. Then to her he said, “I’ve taken the liberty of laying out some clothes for you. I expect you to clean yourself up and change. You look a mess.”

She pressed her lips together and looked away. It was a mistake.

His palm cracked against her exposed cheek, knocking her back into the men who held her arms.

“Don’t you ever look away from me, whore.”

Slowly, she turned to stare him in the eye, doing nothing to disguise her hatred.

“Yes, you’d like to kill me wouldn’t you?” he said in a deceptively soft tone. “Just like you killed Paulo. I will make you beg, Katie. You will beg me to kill you before I’m finished.”

He waved his hand. “Take her away.”

The two men dragged Katie toward the stairs. She scrambled to get her feet under her, but they walked too fast. They hauled her up to the bathroom and shoved her inside.

“Do as the boss says,” one of them ordered. “Your clothes are on the counter.”

They retreated, closing the door behind them.

Katie took quick stock of the bathroom. There wasn’t a single window. Most of the rooms in the house didn’t have any. The first time she’d seen Ricardo’s compound, she’d remarked to Paulo how it reminded her of some clichéd drug dealer’s fortress. Paulo hadn’t been amused, but then she hadn’t realized until later how on-target her essment had been.

Her hopes plummeted at the thought of how difficult escape would be. Even if she did manage to gain freedom from the house, she would have to deal with the surrounding terrain. Ricardo would have no compunction about ordering his men to bathe her if she refused to do it herself. With that in mind, she turned on the shower and stripped out of her shorts and shirt.

Her body ached from the Taser Ricardo had used to prevent her from fleeing. She checked her appearance in the mirror and winced at the bruises on her face, neck and arms.

She turned away and climbed into the shower.

What the hell was she going to do? She washed rapidly, knowing Ricardo could very well show up in the bathroom. He thrived on being unpredictable, on keeping people off balance.

The little weasel had wanted her from the moment Paulo had brought her home and introduced her as his girlfriend. He’d played into Paulo’s insecurities and convinced his younger brother that Katie was having an affair with him.

If only she could have killed Ricardo instead. If only. It was a regret she’d carry to her grave. And if she ever got the chance to rectify her mistake, she’d take it without a moment’s hesitation.

As she rinsed the last of the soap from her hair, she ran her hand over the back of her neck, sliding the wet strands away from her skin. Her fingers glanced over something at her nape, and she frowned.

She backtracked and ran her finger over the slight protrusion again. It felt like a splinter. Gripping it with her fingernails, she tugged, and after a slight twinge, it came free.

She pulled her hand around so she could look at the tiny object. What the hell was it? It was metal, needlelike but not very long.

Opening the door to the shower, she stepped out, the sliver still in her palm. She laid it on the counter then reached for a towel to dry off.

After she hastily pulled on the jeans and shirt—the bastard hadn’t included any underwear, his way of humiliating her, no doubt—she turned her attention back to the thing she’d taken out of her neck.

There was no way she’d gotten it by accident, which meant someone had inserted it on purpose. Was it a tracking device? And why put one in now, after she’d been captured? Unless Ricardo was afraid she’d escape again…

Carefully, she inserted the device back into the hollow of her neck. She didn’t want Ricardo to know she’d found it. If she did manage to escape—and she had every intention of doing so—the tracking device could buy her valuable time if she sent him looking in the wrong direction.

First she had to regain her strength then she’d bide her time until she found a way to escape. Whatever she had to endure from Ricardo in the meantime was a price she’d have to pay.

***

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Braden grumbled. “This has been one pain in the after another.” He glanced up at Ian who wore a similar look of irritation. “Is Tits sure Esteban hasn’t made a move on Katie yet?”

Ian shrugged. “Word is Esteban offered a reward for her—alive—yesterday. These holes nabbed Katie two days ago. You do the math.”

“Fuck.”

“He’s reportedly no longer interested in Eli—alive, anyway. I’m guessing that us teaming up with Falcon has deterred Esteban. After the last -kicking he received at our hands, I doubt he wants to pick any more fights. He’s focusing all his resources on finding Katie, which has to make us the biggest dumbasses alive for sticking our necks into this one. It’ll make us targets all over again.”

Braden shook his head and put the binoculars back to his eyes. He focused on the sprawling mansion nestled in the small valley below. He and Ian were stationed in the densely wooded area just above the house, keeping close watch on the goings-on. They were still getting a signal from the tracking device Ian had planted on Katie, but there had been little to no movement in the last twenty-four hours.

Ian wanted to wait, watch, learn the lay of the land. Braden? He just wanted to get it the over with, go in, put down some serious lead, hogtie Katie before she could cause any more trouble and then get the hell out of the country.

He lowered the binoculars and looked up again at Ian. “Are we going to stare at the damn house for another day or are we going to get our heads out of our es and make a move?”

Ian’s lips tightened. “I’m not getting my shot over her. It’s bad enough we’ve had to chase her across the damn country after spending weeks looking for her, but now apparently she’s pissed off some jacked-up coke dealer with an ego the size of Canada.” He shook his head in disgust.

“Yeah, it would seem Esteban is the least of her worries,” Braden muttered.

He put down the binoculars and rose from his knee. As he stretched and worked the kinks out, he glanced back at the house.

“So what’s the plan, big brother? We going in or not?”

Ian heaved a disgruntled sigh. “Yeah. We’ve ed off enough time already. We’ll move in just before dusk. We’re going to have to be quick and not too picky about piling up the bodies. We grab Katie and get the hell out then book it to the Delta. Our pilot is on standby there.”

Braden shrugged. The bodies didn’t bother him. Scum-sucking drug dealers did, however. What he really wanted to know was what connection Gabe’s little sister had to Ricardo de la Cruz. She was still alive which told Braden that de la Cruz wanted her that way.

 

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She was pretty enough in a psycho, hellcat sort of way, that is if you liked your women with claws. He preferred them slightly more biddable.

“Let’s do a weapons check and then…” Ian stared at Braden as his voice trailed off.

“Then?” Braden prompted.

“We should probably take a low dose of the sedative,” Ian said quietly. “We can’t afford a shift.”

How ridiculous that Braden hadn’t even considered it. No matter how long he dealt with the limitations of living his life as half man and half panther, it still managed to creep up on him. Stupid.

“Where are we flying to?” Braden asked as he watched Ian take out the syringes and the small vial of medication.

“Paris,” Ian said in a tight voice. “Falcon has a safe house there.”

Braden nodded. He knew Ian was uncomfortable relying on Falcon. Braden wasn’t entirely down with it himself. They’d spent too many years as their own team, Covert Hostage Recovery. Eli had led the team, no doubt there, but everyone knew their job and they did it, no babysitting required.

Now, suddenly they were faced with new people, new personalities to learn and a new leadership. Jonah had Braden’s respect, but he didn’t have Braden’s complete trust. Yet.

Ian checked his watch. “We’ll wait two more hours then take the sedative. The doses are light enough not to impair our judgment, so we should be fine.”

Still, Braden would feel more comfortable if they had back-up. Even Falcon. Against ordinary civilians, he and Ian were more than capable of taking down the entire house, but these weren’t ordinary people. They were drug dealers. Armed to the teeth and not bashful about shooting first and asking questions later.

“So I guess falling asleep just before go time probably wouldn’t be a good idea,” Braden joked, knowing it would annoy Ian.

Ian scowled. “Very funny.” Then his scowl deepened. “I sure hope to hell she’s worth all this aggravation. She better damn well serve Esteban up on a platter or I’m going to be pissed.”

Braden shrugged. “We owe it to Gabe to make sure she’s safe.”

Ian’s eyes hardened. “We owe him nothing.”

“You wouldn’t have betrayed the team for me?” Braden asked. “Because I would have for you. No question.”

Ian looked surprised, and then he grew pensive. Instead of responding, he glanced away, busying himself with the two syringes. He packed them into one of the bags and then started a weapons check.

Subject closed. Typical Ian. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he just ignored it until it went away. Braden sighed and walked to the back of the SUV to run down his own weapons.

They needed to view Katie as a key to a cure, to figuring out how to rid themselves of the beasts lurking inside, waiting to be released at any moment. If they did that, they could put up with any amount of inconvenience.

And really, if they couldn’t handle one slip of a woman, they needed to ing quit anyway.

Chapter Six

Katie lay on Ricardo’s big bed with a sense of purpose. Even as pain whipped and coiled through her body, her mind focused on what had to be done.

She shifted and sucked in a painful breath as the movement jarred her abdomen. Ricardo had enjoyed watching as his men hit her. But that wasn’t as bad as what he planned next.

He wanted her helpless and hurting, completely at his whim and mercy. His men had carried her to Ricardo’s bed and left her. He was going to rape her. There was no pretense, no false arrogance that told him she really wanted him and would welcome his advances. He didn’t want that. He enjoyed inflicting pain and humiliation. Her enjoyment would ruin the experience for him.

Her gaze fastened on the one window. Her escape route. Few of the other rooms had windows, but here in Ricardo’s domain, there was a large picture window overlooking the rugged terrain of the Uncompahgre Plateau.

She heard his footsteps, and she tensed in anticipation. She would escape or force him to kill her, but either way, he wouldn’t have her, would not take from her by force what she wasn’t willing to give.

She’d spent the last two years running, constantly looking over her shoulder, and for what? So she could end up Ricardo’s whore until he tired of torturing her?

Fuck him and that.

He appeared at the foot of the bed in a silk robe. How cliché was that? Clearly the man had watched too many mafia movies.

There was nothing put-on about the look of lust that crowded his eyes or the way he stared at her. The lapels of his robe parted as he pulled at the silk and let it fall to the floor.

He was aroused, but violence had always been a huge turn-on for him. Katie was convinced that he couldn’t get it up unless he inflicted pain.

She shrank into the bed, careful to affect the pitiful, injured look she was trying to maintain. Let him see her fear. It would only make him more confident of his power. He underestimated her. He always had.

The bed dipped under his weight as he climbed onto the mattress. She didn’t move. She waited.

She adopted an appropriate look of meekness and fear. When he reached out to touch her, she held back the flinch.

“I told you to undress,” he said in a menacing whisper.

Yeah, he had, but she couldn’t very well escape .

“But I’m glad you didn’t,” he continued on as his fingers trailed up her arm. “I rather like the idea of tearing your clothes off myself.”

Just a little further, hole. Just a little further.

She held her breath as he leaned forward. His engorged brushed against her hip, and she bolted into action.

She grabbed his erect penis in one hand and twisted violently. She smashed her other hand into his nose.

His howl of pain was immediate. She rolled until they both fell onto the floor, her on top of him, her hand still wrapped tight around his and balls.

Not giving him any time to recover, she leaped up, grabbed the lamp off the bedside table and smashed it over his head as hard as she could.

He went limp.

She didn’t take even a second to savor her victory. She lunged for the bedroom door, flipping the bolt to lock it. His men would have heard him bellow and would be beating down his door in a matter of seconds. She needed those precious seconds.

After securing the door, she went back to the bed and yanked the comforter off. She moved toward the window, wrapping the blanket around her body as she went.

The window didn’t open. She’d already tried it. So the only way out was through it. She just hoped she didn’t break anything in the fall from the second story.

Desperate times and desperate measures and all that jazz. Yeah, stop thinking about it. Just go.

She backed from the window, clenched the blanket tighter around her and took off running. When she got to the window, she jumped, ramming her body as hard against the glass as she could.

It shattered on impact. For a moment, it felt as though she was suspended, but the air rushed over her face and a second later, she hit the ground with a resounding thump.

Pain speared through her body. Her arm. God, the one she landed on. It hurt like a mother. She hoped to hell she hadn’t broken it.

There was no time to take stock of her injuries or lack thereof. She scrambled to her feet, wincing when she cut her hand on one of the many shards of glass surrounding her.

She discarded the blanket and took off through the courtyard toward the stone barrier surrounding Ricardo’s estate. She held her bleeding hand against her shirt so she wouldn’t drip on the ground.

It wasn’t going to be easy to get over that wall but then what the hell had been easy for her so far?

She lowered her arm and took a running start. When she got to the wall, she leaped, doing a quick run up the stones. Her momentum carried her up, and she grasped the ledge with her fingers. Barely.

She hung there for several long seconds, catching her breath and praying she didn’t fall. Her hands ached, and she couldn’t even feel her fingers as she clawed for better leverage.

Her feet swinging, she boosted her body until she managed to scrape her elbows over the top, and then she used her arms to haul herself the rest of the way up.

As she rolled over the side, part of the stone by her head exploded, sending sharp pieces of rock into her face and neck. It took her a second to realize she was being shot at.

She dropped over the other side and took off running. She ignored the pain, her injuries, the fact that she had no shoes and that her clothing offered little protection from the bushes and shrubbery she flung herself through.

Only one thing mattered. Escape.

Sucking in mouthfuls of air, she ran, dodging tree branches and jumping over rocks. She didn’t know where she was running. That didn’t matter. As long as she was away from Ricardo, she could figure out the rest later.

She topped a slight rise and paused only to work the stitch out of her side before she started down again. She skidded to a halt when a large man stepped directly into her path.

 

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A frightened moan escaped her lips. God, not him again. She glanced frantically around for the other one and sure enough, he was circling behind her.

Against Ricardo she had a fighting chance. Though bigger than her, he had a slim build. These two? Hulking masses of muscle-bound humanity. She’d bounce off them like a quarter.

She tightened her shoulders. No matter what, they weren’t taking her down without a fight, and she damn sure wouldn’t let them get close enough to drug her again.

Ian’s gaze traveled over Katie’s tense body as Braden circled behind her. He didn’t miss anything. Not the bruise on her cheek, the bruises around her neck and the fingerprint-shaped bruises marring her upper arms.

Her blue eyes were wild with fear—and determination.

He put a placating hand out. “Now, Katie—”

He couldn’t even get the words past his lips before she was off like a shot. Braden cursed as he gave chase. Ian took off after her as well. The last thing they needed was a damn long pursuit when de la Cruz’s men were going to be after them.

This was not how this was supposed to go down. They were supposed to go in, shooting anything that moved, and haul her out on the route they’d planned. She wasn’t supposed to have already escaped with Ricardo’s men all still accounted for. Difficult wench.

Braden managed to bolt ahead of her, effectively cutting her off. The moment she paused to change direction gave Ian the chance he needed.

He took her down with a tackle. Her cry of pain hit him right in the chest. Damn it, he hadn’t wanted to hurt her.

She struggled beneath him as he tried to pry most of his weight off her.

“Get off me!” she cried.

He grabbed her wrists, careful not to squeeze too tightly as he tucked both hands into one of his and held them over her head.

“Stop fighting me,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m trying not to hurt you here.”

“I won’t go back to that bastard,” she hissed. “You’ll have to kill me.”

Braden made a noise that sounded like a snarl. Ian yanked his head up to see Braden scowling beside him. Ian glanced back down at Katie in surprise. She thought they worked for de la Cruz. And why wouldn’t she? They both showed up at the same time and both had made a grab for her.

He eased his hold on her and backed away, determined not to terrify her any more than he already had.

“Katie, listen to me. Gabe sent us.”

Her eyes widened in shock, and all the fight went out of her in one big whoosh. She stared dumbly at him for a long second as he rose to his feet. She scooted along the ground on her behind then picked herself up as if she was prepared to flee again.

Braden stepped forward, but Ian held out a hand to stop him.

“Is he alive?” she demanded.

There was so much fear in her gaze that he couldn’t stand the thought of telling her Gabe was dead. Right now his priority had to be keeping her alive.

Braden glanced over his shoulder as the staccato of machine gun fire sounded in the distance. Then to Ian’s surprise, he strode over to Katie, hoisted her over his shoulder and took off into the brush.

Ian jogged after them just about the time Katie started to fight. But it was her pained grunt when Braden hopped over a fallen log that made him pause.

“Braden, wait, you’re hurting her,” Ian called out.

Braden stopped and swung around to stare at his brother in surprise. Ian grimaced. Whether she was hurt or not wasn’t the issue. If Braden wasn’t killing her then Ian should have just let him go. The sooner they got the hell out of here the better.

But Braden eased her off his shoulder and set her on her feet, though he gripped her arm so she couldn’t take off. Her pale, shaken face and her short gasps of breath made it obvious that she was indeed in a lot of pain.

Braden cursed and touched her cheek with one hand. “I’m sorry, Katie. But we’ve got to get the hell out of here. Now. We can’t around waiting for you to decide if you can trust us. It’s either your buddy de la Cruz or us. I need you to decide so we can escape without an full of lead.”

There was a brief flash of uncertainty in her wide eyes as she studied Braden first and then Ian. She glanced back toward the house, and her expression hardened.

“If you betray me, I’ll kill you,” she said in a voice that sent chills down Ian’s spine.

Funny thing was, he absolutely believed her.

“You can certainly try,” Ian said as he moved toward her again.

He took her arm and turned her in the direction of the SUV. Braden took her other arm and they hustled her up the incline. By the time they reached the SUV, Katie was stumbling to keep up. As he glanced down at her bare feet, he cursed to see one was bleeding. He hadn’t even considered her feet. He’d told Braden to put her down because she was in pain, and he had no idea the extent of her injuries, but in his boneheadedness he hadn’t considered the fact she’d been running through the woods with no shoes.

He reached for her, sweeping her into his arms as he walked the remaining distance to the truck. Her face went pale, and sweat beaded her forehead.

He stalked over to the SUV and sat her on top of the hood. Before she could utter a sound, he yanked at her T-shirt, baring her ribcage and s to his view.

“Hey!” she shouted as she took a swing at him. She shoved furiously at the shirt, but he held tight.

“What the hell did he do to you?” Ian growled.

Her full, pink-tipped s bounced slightly as she struggled to cover herself, but Ian’s gaze was drawn to the dark bruises that marred her belly. He put his hands over her ribs, checking for breakage.

Beside him, Braden muttered a dark obscenity as he stared at her chest.

Her hands trembled as she gripped the T-shirt, trying to pull it away from Ian.

“Can we just get out of here?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Ian gently arranged her T-shirt back over her stomach then plucked her off the hood of the truck. He carried her around to the passenger side and deposited her into the backseat.

“Stay down,” he ordered.

To his surprise, she complied, lying on the seat as Braden slid into the front seat.

Ian hurried around to the driver’s side and got in. He shoved his gun at Braden. Seconds later, he peeled out down the rugged path they’d taken to the ridge overlooking de la Cruz’s house.

As soon as he pulled onto the divide road, they were nearly run over by two black SUVs. He careened sharply to the left to avoid being hit and then stomped on the accelerator, fishtailing in the loose dirt.

“Holy ,” Braden spit out as he almost landed in Ian’s lap. Then he hit the deck when a barrage of bullets pelted the passenger door.

“What the hell did you do to piss him off so bad, sweetheart?” Braden called back to Katie.

“I’m breathing,” she muttered.

“Not for long if I can’t shake these holes,” Ian said grimly. “Anytime you want to take some heat off us would be nice, little brother.”

Braden cracked a grin. “Well, you do always say I’m too quick to start shooting shit. Figured I’d show some restraint.”

“Restraint, my . Now ain’t the time for it. Shoot the ers.”

Braden laughed, and Ian shook his head. How on earth he could always crack jokes in high-pressure situations was beyond Ian, but he was used to it by now. It used to drive Gabe up the wall, while Eli just chuckled and went on.

Braden cracked the window, angled his rifle and squeezed off several rounds. Ian checked his rearview mirror to see one of the SUVs hit the ditch. The bad news, however, was that two more had joined the chase.

“Son of a bitch,” Ian swore.

“I’d say the airport is out,” Braden said as he steadied himself for another shot. “We’re going away from Delta, and it’s not like they’re going to let us on a plane to calmly fly out of there.”

“Aren’t you the observant one,” Ian said snidely.

“Can we dispense with the adolescent bickering and get the down the road?” Katie bit out.

“Aah, I’d almost forgotten about her,” Braden said cheerfully as he took out another SUV.

“We’re saving your sweet , so I don’t want to hear any bitching,” Ian said in a tight voice.

She snorted. Actually snorted.

“Would you like me to let you out so you can hitch a ride with your buddies back there?” Ian asked.

Braden arched an eyebrow as he glanced sideways at Ian. Ian ignored him.

“Don’t expect me on my knees with gratitude. I don’t know who the hell you are, only that you’ve chased me all over St. Louis, you drugged me, tied me to you in my bed and stole my cash. Now you show up here in Colorado and tell me Gabe sent you. That’s the only reason why I didn’t take your goddamn heads off back there.”

 

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Ian laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “You talk big for such a little woman.”

He heard her hiss of anger and smiled even bigger, and all the while, Braden was looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

“Need I remind you that there are people behind us that would love to reshape our bodies with ault rifles?” Braden pointed out.

Ian grunted and focused his attention on the road. He needed to lose these holes and fast. Preferably before they picked up a police tail. And then there was the problem of their pilot waiting at the airport. They couldn’t very well lead de la Cruz’s men to the airstrip and expect them to let the airplane take off. Which meant that their departure from U.S. soil was going to be delayed.

This was turning into one long-ass mission. Goddamn Gabe. Why the hell had he kept Katie a secret, and what the hell kind of mess had he dumped Ian and Braden into by asking them to protect her?

This was supposed to be easy. He’d thought it no less than a dozen times since this shitstorm had started.

“They’re slowing down, Ian,” Braden said.

Ian checked his rearview mirror to see that, sure enough, they were putting more distance between them and their pursuers. He frowned. Why were they giving up?

Katie cautiously rose and glanced back at the fading vehicles. Evidently satisfied that it was safe to sit up, she reclined rigidly against the seat. Ian watched her in the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye as she gave a weary sigh and closed her eyes.

She looked exhausted. It was obvious she was in a great deal of pain. Unexpectedly, his gut clenched. What had the little bastard done to her?

If he’d expected her to be an easy acquisition—and he had—he’d never been more wrong in his life. She wasn’t a shrinking violet. She had courage—and a spine made of steel. Some of his earlier annoyance faded. He admired guts, especially in a woman who looked way too small to ever fend for herself.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She opened one eye and stared back at him. “Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“No. But I’ll get there.”

His lips quirked upward in a smile.

Braden turned in his seat to stare at Katie. “What the hell did you do to Ricardo de la Cruz, lady?”

“The name is Katie. Use it.”

He gave her a lazy grin. “Sure thing, sweetheart.”

“Asshole,” she muttered.

Ian chuckled under his breath. Braden the babe magnet was failing in the charm department.

“Look, can you just pull over and let me out?” she asked. “It’s obvious neither of you understand the seriousness of the situation. Maybe you have time to sit around and make stupid remarks and laugh at your own lame-ass humor, but I really need to put as much distance between me and Ricardo de la Cruz as possible.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed. “Keep your panties on. Braden’s way of dealing with any tense situation is with lameness. What can I say? He’s a lame guy.”

“Hey, you,” Braden said. “And good God, don’t tell me you’re getting a sense of humor in the middle of a mission gone to shit.”

Ian ignored his brother. “We hauled your pretty out of Ricardo’s grasp, so the least you can do is show a little gratitude.”

Her mouth gaped open. It was a pretty mouth too. One he could easily fantasize about. He blinked as the absurdity of his thoughts hit him.

“You pompous, dumb-as-shit moron. If it weren’t for you, Ricardo would have never caught me. I wouldn’t be in this situation. I’d be halfway across the country with money and means of transportation.”

She heaved a breath, and he saw her wince, but her face was mottled with anger, and her eyes glittered.

“And as for hauling my anywhere, I had already taken Ricardo down and escaped through a window, thank you very much. I’d gotten over the wall and would have escaped the grounds on my own. Where the hell do you get off thinking you’re some kind of goddamn hero when all you’ve done is cause me endless pain and grief at that hole’s hands?”

“This would probably be a good time for you to shut up, dude,” Braden said out of the corner of his mouth as he surveyed Katie with an amused expression.

Suddenly Braden’s head snapped back as Katie decked him. All amusement vanished, replaced by astonishment.

“She hit me!”

“Let. Me. Out. Now.” Fury glinted in her eyes as she gave her dictate through gritted teeth.

Ian didn’t know whether to throw back his head and laugh his off—and he probably would if he wasn’t sure she’d deck him next—or gag her. He was seriously leaning toward the latter.

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re stuck with us.” He stared at her in the rearview mirror. “Gabe asked us to come,” he said quietly.

Raw grief swamped her eyes. “Is he alive?”

Ian hesitated a moment too long. He watched her fold inward, hunching her body into a ball. She turned her face away, pressed her cheek into the seat and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, though he doubted she heard him.

He exchanged uneasy glances with Braden then returned his attention to the road. He listened for the sounds of her weeping, but she didn’t make a single peep.

Every once in a while he glanced back at her, but she remained huddled against the seat, her expression one of deep pain.

Something in his chest softened. She was prickly as hell, but then who could blame her? She was right. He and Braden had likely been the cause of her falling into de la Cruz’s hands, and she’d suffered a lot at those hands.

His jaw tightened as his gaze flickered over the bruises on her face and neck. He’d like to meet up with Ricardo. Severing the hole’s with a rusty knife held a certain appeal.

At some point she drifted off to sleep. Her body language changed from the tense, defensive don’t ing touch me stance to a more relaxed posture. Her eyelashes rested on her cheeks, but even in sleep, there was such an expression of sorrow that it formed a knot in his throat.

“What the hell are we going to do with her?” Braden murmured.

Ian looked at his brother in surprise. “Nothing’s changed. Esteban is still our priority. We get her the hell out of the country then wait for him to make his move.”

Braden nodded, but something in his expression bothered Ian. Neither of them could afford to grow soft. Not when so much was riding on them finding a cure.

Remembering their pilot, he yanked up his cell phone and put in a quick call. Ian didn’t want to be exposed for a prolonged period of time. The more time they spent on the ground, the more likely they were to have run-ins like they had with de la Cruz and company. But at the same time, he didn’t want to risk their pilot landing in an area where they would have to risk their es to fly out of.

After he explained the problem, the pilot suggested a rendezvous at a small airstrip outside Chama, New Mexico.

It was a long-ass drive, and he and Braden were both fighting the effects of the sedative, but they couldn’t afford to stop.

He glanced one more time back at Katie. Hopefully she’d sleep for a good long while. The sooner they got her on the plane—preferably without any more drama—the better.

Chapter Seven

Katie stared dully out the window as the scenery passed in a blur. Dead. Gabe was dead. She’d known it when he hadn’t called, but hearing it confirmed sent a fresh wave of grief splintering through her system.

Dusk had fallen, and the stars were gradually popping in the sky. She’d listened as the two men murmured between them, but they hadn’t said anything that told her who they were, why Gabe had sent them to her nor had they given her any indication she could trust them. She knew their names only from listening to their conversation, but nothing else. Gabe had never talked about his teammates. Once he’d mentioned someone named Eli, but that was it.

She umed they were brothers because of the strong resemblance. Both had black hair and green eyes, though Braden’s were a lighter shade than the deep emerald of Ian’s. They obviously took their military training to heart because they were built like brick houses. Ian was taller than Braden, but Braden was the stockier, more muscular of the two.

Clearly they were the lesser of two evils. No, she wasn’t entirely sure of their motives or intentions, but she knew what her fate was with Ricardo. That in itself was good enough reason to go along for the ride. Ian had seemed appalled by her bruises, so maybe he wasn’t a complete head.

She dragged a tired hand through her matted hair. Dried blood was smeared on her fingers, and her arm screamed as she tried to figure out how injured it was. It didn’t feel broken, but it was swollen. Just great.

Her ribs protested as she gently probed. Breathing was painful but not hindered. All in all, she was damn lucky to escape with only bruises.

 

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She closed her eyes briefly and sucked in her breath. When she opened them again, Braden was staring back at her.

“You okay?” he asked in a tone that suggested he actually gave a damn.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled.

He turned to Ian as though she hadn’t spoken. “We need to stop. She’s a mess, and we need to make sure her injuries aren’t severe.”

She aimed a glare at the back of his head. Funny how he hadn’t appeared very concerned with the severity of her injuries when he’d tossed her over his shoulder and bounced her to hell and back.

On the other hand, if they didn’t stop, she couldn’t very well escape. Granted she’d like to be a little further away from Ricardo and company before she bolted, but she’d take whatever opportunity was presented.

Gabe sent us.

Why?

Did she want to know? And did it matter now that he was dead? She was on her own. Not that she hadn’t been for the last few years, but there had been comfort in knowing that Gabe was a phone call away, that if she really needed him, he would come.

Trust no one. Ever.

Gabe’s words came back to her. Words to live by.

She glanced toward Ian and Braden again as they went back and forth as to whether they were going to stop. She wasn’t a gut person when it came to forming opinions. Obviously she had the sense of a moron when it came to men. No, there wasn’t some nifty little feeling steering her emotions. She dealt in concrete evidence, and nothing had shown her that these men were anything but dangerous.

A pitiful little moan worked its way past her lips. She was careful to make sure her gaze was focused out the window, so they wouldn’t suspect she was paying them any attention. She even managed an appropriate wince as she moved her arm, not that she had to work too hard, because damn, it really did hurt.

She heard Ian sigh, and a few seconds later, he turned off the road. The headlights bounced over the wooded area as they came to a stop on the makeshift path.

“I don’t want to stop anywhere close to a town,” Ian said gruffly. “We’re only a couple hours from de la Cruz’s place, and I’ll feel better when we’re a lot further. We’ll get you cleaned up and checked out, and we’ll worry about finding better accommodations later.”

Said like she was a child in need of coddling after a bad fall. She blew out an exasperated breath and plotted her move. She studied the area. Lots of trees and brush. As best as she could tell, they’d already bypassed Nucla and Naturita and were probably approaching Norwood.

Their size was to their advantage, though she’d already proven she was faster when she had a good lead. But they weren’t injured, and she was.

Gabe sent us.

She closed her eyes. Yes, she wanted to know why, but at the same time, she couldn’t discount what Gabe had drilled into her head. Trust no one.

It had been proven to her over and over that trust was not something to be given lightly, if at all. She couldn’t even trust herself or her judgment, so how the hell was she supposed to hand her wellbeing over to complete strangers? Strangers who had drugged her, tied her and tackled her.

No thanks.

The SUV ground to an abrupt halt, jarring her uncomfortably. Before she could react, Ian got out and yanked open her door. As soon as he touched her, she shrank away.

His stare grew menacing, but it was clear he wasn’t angry at her. No, he was focused on her battered appearance with a frown that would scare the hell out of the boogeyman.

His touch grew gentle as he slid his hand up her arm. Then he simply reached in and picked her up off the seat. He carried her around back where Braden had popped the door.

“I’m afraid this will have to do,” Ian said as he lowered her to sit just above the bumper.

Her legs dangled over the edge of the truck, and he urged her to lie back. Panic set in as she processed the vulnerability of her position. Her hands flailed, but she found them restrained by his firm grip.

“Look at me, Katie,” Ian said in a quiet, firm tone.

She stopped for a moment, unwittingly lured by the strength in his voice. For just a moment, she felt safe. It had been so long since she’d gotten even a fleeting taste of what it felt like to live without fear that she grabbed on to the feeling and absorbed it hungrily.

His eyes bore into hers. “I won’t hurt you, at least not intentionally. We haven’t gotten off to the best of starts, but I’m not a bastard who beats up women.”

Her mouth went dry as his fingers slowly pulled at her shirt.

“Shine the flashlight over here, Braden,” he said.

Ian scowled when the beam of light hit the splotches of discolored flesh on her abdomen. In an effort not to make her uncomfortable, he tried to keep as much of her s covered as he could.

It amazed him that such a slender, slight woman would have so much in the boob department, and he couldn’t help that his gaze kept returning to the lush mounds. If he moved his finger at all, it would brush the soft underswell.

With gentle hands, he probed her ribs. She winced in a few spots, but it didn’t feel like she had broken anything. Satisfied that at worst she’d suffered painful bruising, he tugged down her shirt then turned his attention to her arm.

The area above her elbow and the elbow itself was swollen. He could tell it hurt when he moved it, but she remained motionless and stoic.

“This could use some ice,” he said as he carefully lowered her arm back to her side.

She averted her gaze. “I’ll be fine. It’s not broken.”

Braden reached out and ran his fingers lightly over her bruised cheek. His expression was bland, but Ian could see how tightly his jaw was drawn.

“What does Ricardo de la Cruz want with you, Katie?” Braden asked.

Her blue eyes became ice crystals. She visibly retreated behind a mask of indifference. It was a lot like watching a brick wall go up.

Ian pulled a T-shirt from one of the bags then opened a bottle of water. He poured it over one corner of the shirt and set to work wiping the dried blood from the cut on her hand.

She had small hands, dainty almost, and as soon as he made that observation he wanted to laugh. She was about as far from dainty as a woman could get.

When he was through cleaning the wound, he let his hands trail down her leg until he got to her foot. It was dirty, and there was a large cut on the bottom. It had to hurt like hell.

He felt her tremble when he began wiping at it, and he glanced back up at her to see that she’d relaxed her guard somewhat. Pain glittered in her eyes, and he was gripped by an odd, fierce rage for what she’d endured.

How the hell did he know she wasn’t some drug-running floozie in league with de la Cruz? For all he knew, he and Braden had walked into the middle of a lover’s quarrel. Still, no matter what her sins were, no woman deserved to be a man’s punching bag.

He swabbed the T-shirt over her small feet, and he was fascinated by the incongruity of her pink toenails. They looked decidedly feminine on a woman who was as prickly as a hedgehog.

“Get me something to bandage her hand and foot with,” he said to Braden.

Braden dug around in a first-aid kit, pulled out a roll of gauze and thrust it at Ian. Ian eyed Braden’s hand resting on Katie’s other knee. It was a possessive grip, and he moved his thumb in a soothing up-and-down motion over her skin.

Ian rolled his shoulder then began winding the gauze around the instep of her foot. When he was satisfied with the result, he taped it and cut the end.

He reached again for her hand that was now resting on her taut abdomen. For a brief moment, her fingers curled trustingly around his, but then she flexed them, the tips flying off the back of his hand as if she’d realized what she was doing.

A few seconds later, he had her hand wrapped, and he tossed the gauze into the truck.

Braden slid an arm underneath her and eased her forward. She regarded him with wary eyes as she gingerly sat up. Her gaze flickered to Ian, and for a moment he saw fear—of him—shadowed in her face. Before he could offer any reassurance, the vulnerability was gone, replaced by a look of annoyance.

It was fascinating to watch her, because she was like an open book. Every thought, every emotion played out in her eyes. You only had to watch closely enough to see the changes.

Somehow he didn’t think she’d appreciate his analysis, or that she was so easily read.

“We should get on the road,” Ian said.

He started to help her up, but she shrugged off his hand.

“I can make it,” she said as she slid from the back of the SUV.

She hung back as he and Braden started for their seats. He saw her hesitate as she rounded the corner of the truck, and before he could blink, she bolted.

“Well goddamn,” Braden swore. “Not again.”

Ian let out a frustrated growl as he and Braden both ran after her. His nostrils flared, and her scent carried to him on the wind. Lightning fast images cascaded through his mind.

 

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Predator and prey.

God.

His breaths came faster as he closed the gap between him and the fleeing woman.

He wanted her.

She was his.

A low snarl tore from his mouth.

And suddenly Braden slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

“Hold it back, Ian.” Braden’s voice came hoarse and urgent close to his ear.

“Go after her,” Ian managed to say. “Don’t let me hurt her, Braden. Swear it.”

“Forget her. She still has the tracking device. Come back to the truck with me so I can give you an injection.”

“Too…late,” he rasped. “Get away from me. Now.”

Braden’s face contorted and rippled in Ian’s vision. The change began to ricochet over his body. Painful.

Bones popped, muscles spasmed and reshaped. He closed his eyes and panted as he fought the shift with everything he had. It was a battle he knew he wouldn’t win.

Braden sped after Katie’s retreating figure. Stupid twit had no idea what she’d started. He’d be lucky if Ian didn’t eat them both for dinner.

Adrenaline-laced fury rocketed through his veins as he focused on the chase.

Don’t shift. Don’t shift. Don’t shift.

The chant swam fluidly through his brain as if by saying it, willing it, he could escape his brother’s fate.

He was gaining on her. He sucked in air through flared nostrils as her scent grew stronger.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

He shook off the hum of arousal as it surged, hot and steady through his groin.

This had to end now.

As he topped the next rise, he dove for her. He slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. Her body absorbed the shock of both their landings, and her cry of pain echoed in his ears.

He rolled, wrapping his arms protectively around her even while he wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into her. She rammed her knee in the direction of his balls, and his hand shot downward, halting her inches from his groin.

He squeezed her knee until her leg went limp. She sagged against him, but he wasn’t in the least bit fooled by her sudden capitulation. He locked his other arm around her body and held her flush against him, so that absolutely no space existed between them.

“I can’t breathe,” she gasped.

“And right now I don’t give a damn,” he snarled. “I’ve about had it with you, lady.”

She squirmed against him, and he tightened his grip until she could no longer move.

In one quick movement, he flipped her over, threw one leg over hers and wrapped both his arms around her, trapping her arms against her sides. Her was pressing hard into his groin, and that wasn’t the only thing hard. Goddamn it. What a time for a freaking erection.

She felt it too, and for a moment she went completely still. He felt her quick intake of air and then she exploded into action, kicking and writhing.

“For the love of God, chill the out,” he barked. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“Not on your life.”

She went limp against him.

“Now we can do this one of two ways,” he said through gritted teeth. “You can give in and walk back with me to the truck, or I can hogtie your , carry you back and stuff you into the cargo space.”

She stiffened again. “Fuck you.”

“No, you, sister. I’m usually a good-natured guy, but I swear you’re doing your best to piss me off. Now what’s it going to be? If I don’t get an answer in three seconds, I’m choosing option B. God knows it’ll be a lot easier on me if you’re trussed up like a turkey.”

“Fine,” she muttered.

“What’s that? I didn’t hear you.”

“I’ll go back with you,” she spit.

He almost grinned. Sounded like a pissed-off kitten. Then he frowned. He had no idea where Ian was which meant the trip back to the truck was going to be interesting. The sooner he could get her locked in, though, the safer she’d be. For that matter, he wasn’t crazy about skulking around in the dark with a jaguar on the loose.

He loosened his grip and cautiously got to his feet. She lay there in the darkness, her breaths shallow and pained. He refused to feel any guilt over it.

Pale moonlight streamed through the treetops, softly illuminating her skin. The forest was quiet except for the short gasps of her breath as her shoulders heaved up and down.

She rolled to her back, and a shadow fell over her face. He moved so he could see her and then extended his hand down to help her up. For a long moment, she stared at him as if not believing he was acting so civilized. Hell, he wasn’t an ax murderer.

When he shrugged his shoulders and started to lean down to pick her up, she quickly thrust her hand toward his. He curled his fingers around her wrist and pulled so she stood in front of him.

He cupped her chin and tilted it upward until the moonlight better illuminated her face. “You’re a mess.”

Her lips thinned, and she jerked away from his grip. “You’re not looking so hot yourself. And you smell like a goat.”

A light chuckle escaped him, and it seemed to irritate her even more. He cupped her uninjured elbow and herded her back toward the truck.

Though he made an effort to relax and not give away his concern over where Ian was, his gaze shot left to right as they walked back. Halfway there, he heard a low growl emanate from about thirty yards to his right.

Fuck.

“Listen up, sister. When I tell you to run, you haul your pretty back to the truck. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t pull any stupid tricks or I swear to God I’ll leave you for the critters to eat.”

She tensed beside him but didn’t argue, thank God.

A hiss shot through the night.

“Run!”

Thankfully, she didn’t hesitate. She took off like a jackrabbit, and Braden pounded the ground after her, his hand at her back urging her faster.

Metal glinted in the moonlight ahead. The SUV came into view, and he grasped her arm and dragged her the remaining way.

He yanked open the door and tossed her inside. She landed with a thump then rapidly turned over to glare at him.

“Don’t get out of this truck,” he said. “I don’t care what you hear or see. You don’t leave. You got me?”

“Yeah, I got it,” she returned softly.

For a moment, fear lurked in her eyes.

“What’s out there?” she asked.

He grimaced. “I’m not entirely sure.”

He glanced once over his shoulder to make sure Ian hadn’t stalked them back to the truck, and then he turned back to Katie.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, he shut the door, bathing the interior in darkness once more. The night air blew down his spine, eliciting a shiver.

He listened closely, tuning in to the sounds around him. There in the distance—the slow, methodical sound of a predator creeping through the underbrush.

Braden turned and ran in the direction of the noise. He shoved aside branches and bushes then leaped over a fallen log. It was stupid to confront the jaguar, but he wouldn’t leave Ian out here alone.

He burst into a clearing and came to an abrupt halt when the luminescent eyes of the cat stared back at him.

Shit.

They stared at one another, both so still. Then the jaguar raised its head and sniffed in his direction. The ears that had lain flat against his head slowly rose.

The cat stepped forward, and he hastily backed up. He reached for a gun that wasn’t there, not that he’d use it. Then he nearly laughed. What was he going to do, threaten the cat with it?

The jaguar stopped, his nostrils flaring. His head bobbed up and down as he inhaled Braden’s scent. Then he started pacing from side to side, his eyes never leaving Braden.

“Ian, man this sucks. Come on. Shift back. Katie’s probably setting the truck on fire as we speak.”

At the sound of his voice, the cat hunched down and let out a growl.

“Shutting up now,” Braden murmured.

He remained stock-still, not wanting to alarm the jaguar any more than he already had. He couldn’t bring himself to think of the cat as Ian. That wasn’t Ian.

The jaguar padded forward again, his steps cautious and slow. His ears flicked and twitched, and occasionally he tossed his head in the direction of a distant noise.

Braden held his breath and hoped he wasn’t about to kiss his goodbye.

When the cat was just a few yards away, he stopped again and settled on his haunches. He simply stared at Braden, his tail lazily flopping around his paws.

Afraid to say anything that might set him off, Braden just stood there, waiting.

His chest grew tight. Sorrow squeezed his throat even as anger lit fire to his veins. This was bullshit. It was no way for him and Ian to live—worried that at any given moment they could shift to beast and kill the other, or someone else.

 

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“Come back, Ian,” Braden whispered. “Goddamn it, shift back.”

To Braden’s surprise, the cat eased down and gingerly rested his head on his front paws as he stretched out his lithe body. In the next moment, his body gave a shudder, and a garbled sound of pain—half human, half animal—shattered the stillness.

Braden raced forward, dropping to his knees as Ian’s body contorted and stretched. Fur melted away, replaced by pinkened skin. Sweat popped and beaded on his flesh as the muscles contracted, seized and finally went limp.

Ian’s mouth stretched into a ghastly grimace, and a more human-sounding cry of pain escaped, carried away on the breeze.

Ian’s head fell to the ground. Harsh breaths danced in rapid staccato, escaping in a thin puff of smoke against the increasing coldness in the air.

Braden leaned over his brother, fear like a vise gripping his chest. “Ian. Ian, talk to me, man.”

“It hurts,” Ian said with a tortured groan. “Goddamn, it hurts.”

“Come on, let me help you up before you freeze,” Braden muttered.

With Braden’s help, Ian staggered to his feet, his skin illuminated by the full moon. A hunting moon. Did it call to the predator inside them both? Was it the reason, along with Katie’s flight, that they battled the beasts so fiercely?

“Katie,” Ian gasped out. “Did I hurt her?”

Braden snorted. “My money might be on her in a showdown between her and the jag.”

“Not funny.”

A half smile quirked Braden’s lips. “You never think I’m funny.”

“Clothes. I need clothes.”

Braden sighed. “Yeah well, between chasing after Katie, running from you and stuffing her into the truck, I didn’t exactly stop and get you an extra pair of underwear, you know?”

“Go,” Ian bit out.

Braden shook his head. “I’m not leaving you, so deal with it. It’s dark. Your maidenly modesty will survive intact. You can get into your clothes at the truck.”

“I’m not too wiped out to kick your , little brother,” Ian growled.

Braden smirked. “You couldn’t fight your way out of a paper bag right now.”

He promptly doubled over when Ian planted a fist in his gut.

“Damn but you’re a cranky son of a bitch.”

“I could have killed you, Braden. Think about that the next time you decide to play babysitter. I told you to get the hell away from me.”

Braden wrapped an arm around Ian’s shoulders and ignored Ian’s attempt to shake him off. He shoved his brother forward.

“Yeah, you told me, but when have I ever listened to you?”

Ian shook his head, but he stumbled and leaned wearily against Braden. They walked back in silence. When the SUV came into view, Braden halted and leaned Ian against a tree.

“Wait here. I’ll get you some clothes.”

Chapter Eight

Eli Chance let himself into the bedroom he shared with Tyana and glanced over to see her propped on the bed, her casted leg elevated on a pillow.

She looked up, her eyes flickering with both welcome and wariness she still hadn’t shed when it came to him.

She kept it interesting which was one of the things he liked most about her. He damn sure never had to worry about being bored.

“Glad to see you found your way back to bed, sugar.”

She rolled her eyes, but he could see the pain and fatigue etched in her brow.

Not waiting for an invitation, he stretched out beside her, careful not to bump her cast. Her body settled comfortably into his, and he felt her go soft around him.

Enjoying the quiet and stillness, he brushed his lips across hers, tasting her mouth with his tongue.

“Jonah tells me you’re getting tired of me already,” he murmured.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him in horror. “He said what?”

He chuckled. “You’re way too easy, sugar.”

She frowned, but he saw a glimmer of guilt before she looked away.

“Ah, so you did put him up to getting rid of me.”

“Hell,” she muttered. “It wasn’t quite like that.”

He lifted one brow as he trailed a finger down the softness of her cheek. “So how is it? Come on, Tyana. We’ve always been honest with each other. Don’t start holding out on me now.”

She sighed and slumped back into her pillows in defeat. “I’m just not used to all the hovering, Eli. Don’t take it personally. This whole relationship thing is new to me. I don’t handle convalescence very well.”

He laughed. “That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. Okay, so I’m getting on your nerves.”

She gazed curiously at him. “You don’t seem offended.”

“Should I be? I’m uming you don’t want to get rid of me on a permanent basis.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she growled.

He grinned. “I love it when you get cranky.”

He propped his head in his palm and let his other hand wander down her midriff, enjoying the way she tightened beneath his fingers.

“So what’s up, Tyana?” he asked softly. “What’s really going on here?”

There was a flash of vulnerability followed by a quick masking of her features. The tough exterior he was so used to pushed itself outward until not a trace of uncertainty remained.

And then just as quickly, as though she made the conscious decision to let him see inside, she crumbled, and she closed her eyes.

“I hate this,” she said honestly. “I hate not being able to face you as an equal. I hate being out of action. I hate not being able to help D. I want to go after Esteban so damn bad, and instead I’m stuck here with you babysitting me while Mad Dog and Jonah play the indulgent older brothers. It sucks!”

Eli knew better than to tease her at this point. He touched her chin with one fingertip to gain her attention. Her green eyes locked with his. He could read the conflict loud and clear. He understood it because he’d feel the same damn way in her position.

“So Jonah wants me to hook up with Tits and meet Ian and Braden in Austria instead of Paris, at the safe house he’s arranged. As soon as Ian checks in again, I’ll head out.”

Instead of looking relieved, Tyana grimaced. “You know he did it for me,” she muttered.

“Sending me on a errand? Yeah, I know he did. He wasn’t any happier about it than I was. But we both love you, so I guess we can both suck it up.”

She visibly winced. “Christ. Now I feel about an inch tall.”

Eli took pity on her and leaned in to kiss her. “Quit being so hard on yourself, sugar. I knew when we started that things wouldn’t be easy, and our issues wouldn’t be resolved overnight. We’re both too used to doing things our own way.”

Tyana kissed him back. Not gently because that just wouldn’t be her. She took possession of his mouth like she owned it. Hell, he loved that. And he did belong to her.

When she pulled away, her eyes were glazed with passion, kind of foggy. “I’m not being fair. This has been so much more difficult for you, Eli. Having to cede control to Jonah, to someone you don’t fully trust yet. Having to rely on Falcon for the safety and wellbeing of your men. In your position, I know I couldn’t do it. Neither could Jonah. He’s too much of a control freak. And yet we all expect you to make sacrifices because you were dumb enough to fall…to get involved with me,” she finished uncomfortably.

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at her slip. She’d never said she loved him. Nor had she really acknowledged that he loved her. Hell, he couldn’t remember if he’d ever said the words either, mainly because he knew how uncomfortable they’d make her.

It was enough that she was here with him. They were together. She was having a difficult time adjusting, but never once had she hinted that she didn’t want to make it work.

He could be a patient man when the end result was worth it. Tyana was.

“I’ll be gone for a while,” he said casually, ignoring the awkwardness of her rambling. “Why don’t you hang out with D and recover so we can go kick some Esteban together?”

Her eyes flashed and brightened and a broad smile lit her face. Trust her to get all excited over the prospect of a good fight.

And then she sobered and touched his cheek with her slender fingers. “I want you to come back, Eli. I hope you know that. It’s not that I don’t want you here. It’s just that I hate for you to see me this way. So helpless. I hate seeing me this way.”

He captured her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I won’t be going immediately, and don’t worry. You’re going to have to do more than whine to Jonah to get rid of me.”

She growled under her breath. “I didn’t whine to Jonah.”

 

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He raised his eyebrows and quirked his lip at her. “Oh? That’s not the way he tells it.”

“Rat bastard,” she muttered.

“Oh, and Tyana? I ure you, Mad Dog and Jonah will be every bit as watchful as I am. So don’t get any crazy ideas.”

She actually looked disappointed.

“Now, you want me to carry you downstairs so you can drink and smoke weed with the other fools?”

“Carry?” she sputtered. “I’m down but not dead, Chance.”

Chapter Nine

Katie shoved her hair out of her eyes as she stared out the window into the darkness. Where the hell had Braden gone, and for that matter where had Ian disappeared to? Was he out looking for her?

Honest to God, she’d never met two more bizarre men in her life, and lord knew she’d met some doozies.

She pressed her palms to the glass, but Braden had disappeared. She frowned as she realized she was worried. What should it matter to her if he got his killed?

Then it dawned on her that she was in the truck alone. And she was sitting here harboring ridiculous concerns for a complete stranger when she should be driving as fast and as far away as possible.

She clambered over the seat, settling behind the wheel. To her dismay, the keys weren’t in the ignition. Of course. Because God forbid anything be easy.

A snarl of frustration ripped past her lips. She placed her hands on the wheel and rested her forehead against the horn.

She was starving, she hurt like hell, and she’d give her eyeteeth for a bed and a good night’s sleep.

Whiney . Just be glad you’re alive and not in bed with Ricardo right now.

That sobered her quickly.

The door swung open, startling her. She let out a yelp and threw up her arms in defense. Braden stood outside, a smirk on his face.

“You don’t think I was stupid enough to leave the keys, now do you?”

She scowled even as relief hit her so hard she went weak. She wasn’t glad to see him. Not at all. And she wasn’t worried about where Ian was or that he’d been eaten by whatever the hell was out there.

“You don’t look happy to see me,” he said dryly. “Is that the thanks I get for saving your pretty again?”

She started to hit him until she figured out he was yanking her chain. Royally. She took a deep breath and smiled sweetly at him.

“I’ll be happy to take this pretty elsewhere. Just get the hell out of my way.”

He leaned in, his body pressing hard to hers. She shoved at him, but he was intent on reaching beyond her to the other seat.

“Get off, damn it,” she gasped out as he squeezed the air from her lungs. “Big oaf.”

He snatched a duffel bag then slowly eased away from her, a y grin on his face.

“I wouldn’t get out if I were you. Your delicate sensibilities might be offended.”

Then he was gone, shutting the door behind him. What the hell? What sensibilities? Then she glanced in the rearview mirror to see a Ian thrusting a leg into a pair of jeans.

Naked? What the ever-loving is he doing ?

She continued to stare until she realized she was still staring, and then she jerked her gaze away, looking at the windshield, the seat, her hands…anything but back at the man.

What is he doing ?

And why was she sitting here like a docile moron?

She peeked up at the mirror and to her relief saw that Ian was dressed and talking to Braden. Braden gestured toward the truck and her and then both men started toward the front.

Shit.

Ian reached her door first and yanked it open. He took one look at her and a feral light entered his eyes. A shiver skated down her spine and sent an odd tingling into her womb. She honestly didn’t know whether to be terrified or intrigued by the dangerous fire in his gaze.

He sucked in air through his nose, his nostrils flaring and quivering. His fists curled and clenched and then he rubbed his open palms up and down his pants legs.

Braden jerked him backward, and the truck shook as Braden thrust Ian against the hood.

“Goddamn it, Ian, what the hell is wrong with you?” Braden demanded.

“It’s her,” Ian said hoarsely.

Braden snapped his gaze to her and scowled. Then he quickly turned his attention back to his brother. “You’re getting an injection and then you’re going night-night. Are we clear?”

Katie watched in open-mouthed fascination as Braden strode to the back of the truck and then returned a moment later with a syringe. She winced when, without preamble, he stuck the needle in Ian’s arm. There was so much wrong with this scene she didn’t even know where to start. And she’d thought things were weird with Ricardo.

Braden left Ian leaning against the truck as he headed to the backseat to open the door. Katie’s gaze was drawn to Ian as he stared up at the sky, his face a brooding mold.

“Slide over,” Braden ordered.

She blinked and yanked her concentration from Ian to stare at Braden.

“Ian’s going in back. You get over in the passenger seat. No arguments.”

She immediately bristled but forced air through her nose and stifled the protest dancing on her lips. Part of survival was knowing when the hell to keep your mouth shut. This was one of those times.

She moved into the passenger seat as Braden went back to Ian. A few seconds later, Braden herded him into the backseat and shoved him into a lying position.

As she glanced casually over her shoulder, she saw Ian staring at her, those eyes flashing despite the lethargy from whatever Braden had injected him with.

Determined not to back down, she boldly met his gaze. For a long moment, they just stared at one another until discomfort skittered over her skin. When Braden opened the driver’s door, it gave her an excuse to look away.

He slid in beside her and started the engine. His hands curled around the steering wheel, but he made no move to put the truck into drive.

She shifted uncomfortably and forced her gaze away.

“This shit has to stop, Katie,” he said in a firm voice.

That pissed her off. She whirled around to glare at him. “Where the hell do you get off giving me orders? I don’t even know who you are or why you’ve taken it upon yourself to irritate the living shit out of me. Don’t you think you’ve caused me enough grief?”

He rammed the gearshift down and took off, the SUV rocking over the bumpy terrain.

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

She gaped at him, speechless.

“You haven’t even asked about Gabe.”

Rage and grief grabbed hold of her throat and squeezed. Hard.

“You said he was dead,” she said through gritted teeth. “What else is there to know?”

He glanced sideways at her. “You’re a cold bitch. He was your brother.”

She shook her head and turned away. “What do you want me to do, cry? Would it make you feel better for me to fall at your feet in a weeping, wailing mass of femininity? Would that appeal to your manly ego?”

Her fingers curled into tight fists in her lap. “Well, let me tell you, none of that is going to keep me alive, and if Gabe taught me nothing else, he taught me to survive. The last thing he’d want is for me to rely on a complete stranger. Trust no one.”

“Christ, you even sound like him,” Braden muttered. “The most suspicious bastard I ever knew.”

For a moment she wanted to do just what she scorned and ask Braden about Gabe. Details. Information she was hungry for. Yes, Gabe was her brother, and he’d saved her, but she hadn’t seen him in two years. Their phone calls were always brief and to the point.

“Gabe sent us to find you,” Braden said. “Now, you can believe that or not, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to risk my or my brother’s just because you can’t decide whether you’d rather hang out with us or your buddy Ricardo.” He snorted and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s a hard choice.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” she said softly. “I don’t want to hang out with either of you. Do I think you’re a better choice than Ricardo? I don’t know.”

She stopped when he sucked in an angry breath.

“I don’t deal in instincts, Braden. I look at irrefutable evidence, and I’m sorry, but so far, I’m not seeing anything that screams to me I can trust you. I’ve been burned and burned bad. If you think I’m going to put my life in your hands because you say Gabe sent you then you’re out of luck.”

Much like the Taser Ricardo had used on her, sudden remembrance hit her with enough force to knock the breath from her. Her hands flew to the back of her neck, frantically feeling for the protrusion.

“Oh . Fuck, , ,” she breathed.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Braden demanded.

All the blood squeezed itself from her cheeks until they grew tight. She was an idiot, and she deserved to die for such stupidity.

 

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Her fingertips fumbled over her nape until finally she found the thin piece of metal.

Braden’s hand circled her wrist, and he yanked downward. “What are you doing?”

“Tracking device,” she croaked. “I ed up. I found it but left it in because I intended to use it to throw them off my trail. That’s why they backed off, I’m sure. Because they know how to find us.”

Braden chuckled.

“What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.

“Ian and I planted the tracking device. I’m surprised you found it.”

“You what?”

She jerked her hand out of his grasp and reached for the device again.

“Leave it,” he ordered.

She stared at him in astonishment. “You’re out of your mind. Like I want you knowing my every movement? Don’t you get the whole point of escape?”

He laughed again, much to her irritation.

“You’re not escaping, Katie. But that tracking device has already saved your damn life once. How do you think we knew where to find you when Ricardo swooped in and carried you off to his love nest?”

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “You didn’t save shit!”

“Ricardo is not your only concern,” Braden said quietly. “In fact, I’d go so far as to say he’s a little fish compared to what else you’re up against.”

She made a rude noise. “If this is some sort of bullshit attempt to scare me into sticking around, save it.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Braden said in a clipped tone.

A dart of fear scurried from her belly into her throat.

Braden’s hands tightened around the steering wheel as he navigated back onto the highway. She waited in silence for him to explain, to give her something other than a tersely worded dictate.

It pissed her off that he had the power to frighten her, but she’d long given up trying to deny her fears. Being helpless and powerless did scare the hell out of her.

When it was clear he wasn’t going to offer anything further, she reached over to touch his arm. He flinched and quickly glanced over at her. She retracted her hand in silent apology.

“What were you talking about, Braden? Why did Gabe send you when he’s told me under no circumstances was I to ever trust anyone? No exceptions.”

“And why is that, Katie? What the hell is going on between you and Ricardo?”

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about Ricardo. You wanted to talk about Gabe earlier, so talk. Why did he send you after me, and what else am I up against?”

His eyes narrowed in the dim glow of the headlights. “Seems to me we both have information the other wants. You up for a trade?”

A trade. He had to be joking. Like this was some game. Her life was on the line, damn it, and that wasn’t something she took lightly.

But still, uncertainty warred with her determination not to offer him anything at all. What if Gabe really had sent them? What could possibly be worse than being pursued by Ricardo and company?

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“Look, Katie, I get that you don’t trust me and Ian. I don’t expect you to. But believe it or not, we’re trying to help you. Now, you can accept that, and we can work together, or you can keep fighting, which only puts you in more danger. We can’t protect you if we’re constantly having to chase you down.”

She sighed and looked away to stare out her window at the passing scenery. He was asking her to trust him even while saying he understood her not trusting him.

If only Gabe hadn’t died.

That was a stupid thing to say. His being alive wouldn’t change her present circumstances. He’d taught her a lot, but she’d been on her own for years. Dead or alive, Gabe wouldn’t save her. It was up to her to save herself.

“We’re not adversaries, Katie, despite what you might believe. You don’t have to trust us, but it would be stupid not to take the help we’re offering.”

And that was it in a nutshell. Stupid. She had a lot of experience in being stupid. She made such a big deal over not trusting her instincts. Well, her instincts screamed for her not to have anything to do with Ian or Braden.

God, what a mess.

She looked at what was concrete, what was tangible. Ian and Braden hadn’t tried to hurt her, and they had done their best to keep her away from Ricardo, despite her early confusion that they worked together.

She couldn’t believe she was even contemplating going along with this.

She glanced over her shoulder at Ian, who was unconscious, and then back to Braden.

“I’ll tell you what you want to know if you answer all my questions. All. But I won’t do it until he’s awake,” she said, jerking her thumb in Ian’s direction. “I want to hear what both of you have to say, and I want to look you in the eye while you’re talking.”

“Fair enough,” Braden said with a shrug. “Why don’t you get some rest. I promise not to try and kill you while you sleep.”

She slouched down in her seat, weariness seeping into her bones. She wanted rest, needed it. If she didn’t refuel, she was going to crash and burn.

“Will you be okay to drive?” she asked and immediately cursed the fact that she sounded concerned.

He cracked a half-smile. “Go to sleep, Katie. I’ll be fine.”

Chapter Ten

Ian dragged himself from the remnants of a drugged sleep. Dark images aulted him, pulling at him. Memories of the hunt. The overwhelming urge to claim what was his.

Katie.

He put a hand to his throbbing head and shook the cobwebs free. He was losing his grip on sanity. Katie wasn’t his, and moreover he didn’t want her to be.

Slowly he sat up and blinked to bring his surroundings into focus.

“You feeling any better?” Braden asked from the driver’s seat.

Ian leaned forward to stare out the windshield. The eastern sky was lightening as the first rays of sunlight eased over the horizon.

Then he looked over to see Katie scooted over as far against the door as she could go. She was curled into a tiny ball, her hands in a defensive position, and her eyes were tightly closed.

She slept, but even in sleep she was tense and rigid.

“Ian?”

He turned to his brother. “I’m good. I think.”

Braden’s troubled gaze found Ian in the rearview mirror. “That was a bad one, Ian. What the happened?”

Ian rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes for a moment. “It’s her. I can’t explain it. There’s something about her that sets me off. Been that way since the beginning.”

Braden sighed. “Yeah, I know. Me too.”

“Where are we?” Ian asked as he studied the roadway.

“Almost to Durango.”

“Pull over. I’ll drive. You need to get some sleep.”

Braden rolled one shoulder and worked his head from side to side. “I thought we’d snag a room just long enough to grab showers and touch base with Eli.”

Braden glanced over at Katie and said in a quieter voice, “She’s wiped, and she needs to eat. The bandages came off when she ran, and she needs tending to.”

Despite his irritation with her, Ian softened a little when his gaze swept over Katie’s huddled form.

“Okay, but we need to make it quick.”

Braden nodded.

Thirty minutes later, they pulled into a roadside hotel. Braden hopped out and looked back at Ian. “Will you be okay with her?”

Ian swallowed the retort and motioned for Braden to go. As his brother walked away, Ian stared down at Katie who hadn’t stirred.

What was it about her that got him so fired up? He wasn’t unused to the instability or the sudden urge to shift, but this was different. Something dark and feral came over him. A drive inside him that had nothing to do with danger or risk.

He wanted her. Badly. It pissed him off to no end. How could his body, his beast, want something so badly when his mind was screaming hell no? And why was Braden similarly affected?

Unable to stand the confines of the truck, he eased the door open, careful not to make too much noise. He stepped into the early morning coolness and breathed deep of the cleansing air. He took several gulps before he gently shut the door and walked a few steps toward the front of the truck where he could still see Katie through the windshield.

Would he have hurt her? It was hard to say. He couldn’t trust the jaguar because he retained no memories of being the beast. He only knew the overwhelming desire to possess her, to mark her, to make her his, that swamped him just prior to his shift.

The best thing would be to stay as far away from her as he could, but that wasn’t exactly a possibility when he and Braden would be spending every waking minute with her until Esteban made his move.

 

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As he watched, she came awake. There was no slow build to awareness. No sleepy stretch or lazy yawn. She bolted forward, her eyes wide, and he could see the tension billowing off her in waves.

Her gaze connected with his, and for a moment, he saw relief. That surprised him because she’d made no bones about the fact she didn’t trust him or Braden one iota. No sooner had he reflected on the apparent relief in her expression, her eyes hardened as she stared back at him through the glass.

With a sigh, he sauntered around to her door.

“Why are we stopped?” she asked as soon as he swung it open.

“Braden is getting us a room so we can shower, and then we’ve got phone calls to make and we—you—need to eat.”

She wiped a hand over her face, drawing his attention to the still-vivid bruising on her cheek and on her slender neck.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

It took him a minute to realize he was scowling.

“Nothing,” he muttered. But anger he couldn’t quite control quivered and snaked through his veins, whispering to him and calling to the predator.

They both looked up as Braden strode out to the truck.

“Let’s go,” he said as he walked to the back to pop the trunk.

He tossed a set of keys at Ian. “You and Katie head in. I’ll follow with the first-aid kit and the bags.”

Ian caught the plastic key tag and examined the number. Then he scanned the line of rooms until his gaze alighted on the correct door.

“Come on,” he said to Katie, though he was careful not to touch her or act too aggressively.

She hesitated only a slight moment before she turned and followed him.

The room was musty and stale and it was nearly as chilly inside as it was outside. Ian yanked at the yellowed drapes to obscure the view and then turned on the heater under the window.

Katie sat on the edge of the bed, her body language ill at ease. The heater lurched and started to hum, and the smell of exhaust filtered into the room.

Braden stepped inside and tossed a couple of duffel bags on the bed. Katie’s backpack landed next to her, and she grabbed it, yanking open the zipper. She poured out the few changes of clothes and rifled through the contents until she came to a wad of cash and her bankcard.

She fingered the bills and looked up first at Braden and then Ian in confusion.

“Did you think we ripped you off?” Ian asked dryly.

“What was I supposed to think?” she said. “I wake up tied to you in my bed, and my money and bankcard are gone from my pocket.”

“Not that I don’t love watching you two butt heads, but Katie, you need to jump in the shower and wash all the blood and dirt off, and then we need to tend to your wounds,” Braden said.

Her posture immediately became defensive. “I can manage on my own.”

“He didn’t offer you a choice,” Ian pointed out. “Get in the shower or I’ll do it for you. That’s all the choice I’m giving you. When you get out, we’re going to take care of those cuts and bruises.”

Even as he issued the edict, his loins tightened at the idea of being in the shower with her, his hands running over her wet body. He turned away before she could witness his arousal. He was losing his mind. Not to mention his control.

He heard her quick intake of breath. Did her thoughts coincide with his? He glanced down at his fist, held so tight that the skin stretched painfully across his knuckles. With a quick flex, he released his fingers then turned back around.

Katie disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

“You okay, man?” Braden asked.

“No, I’m not okay,” Ian bit out. “Where’s the inhibitor? Carry it on you from now on. It does us no good stashed in a bag. I could have hurt you and Katie.”

Braden flopped down on the bed and lay back, his eyes closing in fatigue. “I’m not so sure the inhibitor would have worked, Ian. You shifted really fast.”

Ian grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Desperation was a constant companion, working in tandem with his pulse, with his every breath, every heartbeat.

“We can’t go on like this, Braden.”

He hated the helplessness, the weakness in his voice. He sounded like a goddamn fatalistic . But they couldn’t continue living like this. Unpredictable. Changing to wild animals in an instant.

What if he killed his brother?

It was the question that haunted him the most. It was easy to isolate himself from the rest of the world. He and Braden had always been loners. But he couldn’t walk away from Braden. Not when his brother needed him. But if he stayed, would he be responsible for someday attacking the one person in the world who mattered to him?

“What the hell is your problem?”

Ian looked down to see Braden staring at him. He shook his head, and Braden made a sound of exasperation.

“Things could be worse.” Braden tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “I mean there are worse things than having a woman a room away.”

Some of the tension eased from his chest, and he looked at his brother in mock disgust. “That woman would like nothing better than to play with your nuts and not in a fun way.”

Braden grunted. “I’d be willing to let her. I’ve always had a slight masochistic streak.”

Ian laughed and was surprised by how good it felt. Maybe some of Braden’s irreverence was rubbing off on him. Or maybe he was too slaphappy to have any goddamn sense.

“Ian?”

“Yeah, man.”

“It might be better if you handled Katie’s, uh, injuries. I’m tired, and I get this weird vibe around her, like I’m about to crawl out of my skin. I don’t want to risk any, uh, complications.”

Ian cursed under his breath. He didn’t trust himself around Katie any more than Braden apparently trusted himself. What was wrong with them? They hadn’t reacted to Tyana or any other woman they’d come into contact with like this. Was it merely the thrill of the chase? A track-and-capture element? Something ingrained deep in their animal psyche?

“We both need to do it,” Ian said grimly. “A system of checks and balances. We’ll have the inhibitor and a large dose of the sedative on hand just in case.”

He paused for a moment as he saw the bleakness enter Braden’s eyes.

“Braden, you have to promise me something.”

Braden ed his head forward to look at Ian. “What’s that?”

“If I ever try to go after you, you have to swear to take me out.”

Chapter Eleven

Eli probably thought they’d all lost their minds. Tyana leaned back against the bar, a joint in one hand, a drink in the other, and watched in amusement as Mad Dog and Jonah sparred in the middle of the game room.

If anyone thought the two men were merely joking around, they obviously hadn’t been witness to past practice sessions. Before it was over, there would be blood, cuts and bruises, and both would, of course, claim victory.

To Tyana’s side, Damiano stood and watched with a grin on his face. He was on his fourth drink and had even rolled one of Mad Dog’s joints. He wasn’t as brooding or distant tonight, and that gave Tyana more hope than she’d had in a long time.

He caught her gaze and smiled warmly. He turned and set his drink down then ambled over to stand beside her. One arm looped around her shoulders as they watched Mad Dog and Jonah trade punches.

“How long you think it’ll be before they get tired of pounding on each other and invite Eli to join in so they have fresh meat?” D asked with dark amusement.

Tyana turned to stare at Eli who was across the room sprawled in a chair holding a beer while he looked on with a bored expression.

“I don’t think he likes our entertainment,” she said.

D shrugged. “He’d probably be having a lot better time if Ian and Braden had checked in. It’s been several days since we heard from them.”

Tyana frowned. It was hard for her to put herself in Eli’s position because the people most important to her were right here. But D was right. Eli was a fish out of water in this environment. He was the new guy playing by new rules not set by him, and his team was on a mission without him.

“How are you feeling tonight?” she asked D. She didn’t really want to get into an analysis of all that Eli was giving up. For her. Because then she’d wonder why the hell he bothered with a woman who’d gone to Jonah in an effort to get him out of her hair for a few days.

“I’m good,” D said. “Stop worrying so much, Ty.” He glanced at her with reproach in his eyes. “You and I have no control over what happens to me. What will be will be.”

She ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted to scream at him and then shake him senseless. No, she wanted to kick his and tell him to stop spouting philosophical nonsense. Fate was what you made it, not the other way around.

 

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She took another long drag of the joint to steady her rage and exhaled in a long, steady plume. Across the room, Eli’s eyebrow went up as he watched her. She wasn’t entirely sure he approved of her new brand of poison, but he’d never said anything. He knew better than to think she’d give it up just because he didn’t like it.

D straightened and leaned against the bar, his elbows propped behind him. “Do you remember the tiger?”

It was a general question, one that would confuse many people in its simplicity, but she knew immediately what he was talking about. When they were much younger, alone on the streets of Prague, they’d freed a tiger from a street vendor. The result had been chaos, but to two children dreaming of their own brand of freedom, it had been symbolic.

“I remember,” she said softly.

“I dream of him often,” D said.

She ed her head sideways to stare at her brother. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel a kinship with him, I suppose. And maybe I’m waiting for someone to come and free me.”

She turned, awkward as her cast bumped into D’s leg. He was quick to help her, but she pushed him away.

“Don’t wait, D,” she said. “Don’t wait for someone to come along and save you. You have to save yourself. Do you understand me?”

“Relax, little sister, I’m not throwing in the towel. I meant it more in a metaphorical sense than anything. I forget how black and white you are,” he said in a teasing tone.

“I am when it comes to you.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to be fine, Ty. Believe that, okay?”

She reached down and caught his hand, squeezing it tight. “I won’t allow you to be anything else, D.”

Mad Dog and Jonah had evidently had enough. Jonah shoved at Mad Dog before heading over to the bar. He poured a generous amount of liquor into a glass while Mad Dog forewent the cup and reached for the bottle.

They performed a mock toast and downed the liquid.

“Your boyfriend looks bored,” Mad Dog said in Ty’s direction. “Shouldn’t you be keeping him company?”

Tyana glanced over at Eli, irked by Mad Dog’s statement. “Give me a push,” she muttered.

D smiled but helped her forward while Mad Dog shoved her crutches at her. She’d just gotten them under her arms when the door opened and one of the Falcon secondary stuck his head in. He looked first at Eli and then Jonah.

Eli sat up, his bored look gone. Jonah also started forward, ignoring the annoyed scowl that flickered across Eli’s face.

“Must be Ian and Braden checking in,” D murmured.

Tyana itched to go after them, but hell, by the time she made it the conversation would be over. Still, it rankled that she was relegated to the sidelines while the action went on around her.

She took a step forward and grimaced when pain shot up her leg. No amount of alcohol or marijuana managed to take the edge off her discomfort.

Mad Dog was quick to take notice, and he grasped her elbow, all but forcing her to lean on him.

“I’ve got her,” D said calmly as he appeared at her other side. “Go get her pain medication.”

Mad Dog frowned as he looked around at the empty room but nodded and headed for the door.

“I’ll be back in a second,” he said.

“Where you want to sit?” D asked after Mad Dog had left.

“Couch is fine,” she said in a disgruntled tone.

She glanced sharply up at D when his hand trembled around her elbow.

“Are you okay?” she demanded.

He wiped shakily at his brow and refocused his attention on her. “Yeah, just too much weed, I think. Don’t know what you and Mad Dog see in the shit.”

“Yeah, well I don’t either,” she muttered.

She thumped with her crutches while D walked by her side. They were almost to the couch when his hand fell away from her arm and he turned abruptly from her.

“D?” she asked hesitantly as she saw the muscles in his back ripple and spasm.

“Get away from me.”

Fear rocketed through her. She dropped her crutches and twisted, her hands reaching for him. As soon as she touched him, he flinched and bolted away.

He hit the bar, his back still to her, his palms braced on the counter, his entire body heaving with exertion.

Tyana hobbled forward, wincing when her injured leg took the brunt of her weight. But she had to get to the inhibitor that was out in plain sight on the countertop.

Her eyes locked on D as she limped heavily. To her horror, his body contorted and lost its shape. It rippled like some movie special effect. Flashes of orange and fur. A low hiss and then a growl.

Dear God, she wasn’t going to be able to get to him in time. She yelled hoarsely as she lunged the remaining distance for the inhibitor. Pain nearly paralyzed her. Her hand glanced off the bar top, but she caught herself and hauled herself upright, only to find herself staring into the eyes of a Bengal tiger.

Holy .

She licked her lips and backed nervously away. Her leg tangled with the barstool, and she went down with a thump. The tiger growled and closed in on her.

She extended her arm, reaching for her crutch, anything. Something she could defend herself with. This was no longer D. She was eyeball to eyeball with one pissed-off predator.

Ignoring the searing pain and the awkwardness of her cast, she pulled herself along the floor. Just as her fingertips touched the cool metal of the crutch, the tiger leaped.

She yanked the crutch in front of her and jammed it into the cat’s jaws when his mouth would have closed over her throat. The tiger’s upper body landed on her chest, knocking the breath from her.

She shoved the crutch deeper into his jaws, refusing to let go. If she did it would mean her death.

Where the was Mad Dog? The Falcon secondary?

She heard a commotion outside and realized they were coming. What seemed an eternity to her had in reality been a few seconds.

The cat shook his head and growled his displeasure, but Tyana refused to budge. She held onto the crutch for dear life, matching the cat’s movements with her own. Anything to keep those teeth from her flesh.

“D, come back to me,” she pleaded.

“What the ?”

Mad Dog’s voice exploded into the room. The cat never looked up, too locked in his battle with Tyana. With a toss of his head, he managed to rip the crutch from Tyana’s grasp. It went sailing across the room, landing with a clatter.

Tyana shoved her hands into the cat’s face, knowing she was now in deep shit.

More voices, more shouts, more pounding of feet. Tyana dimly registered it, but she was focused solely on the tiger and staying alive.

A thin plume of smoke wrapped around the tiger’s neck, twining and twining again. Eli. It whispered through the fur and into the cat’s nostrils.

“No!” she cried. “Eli, don’t kill him.”

The cat snarled and shook his head, forgetting Tyana for a moment as he fought with his invisible ailant.

Then the tiger let out a yelp and his huge body jerked. Tyana looked down to see two syringes protruding from his haunch. Mad Dog and Jonah both tackled the cat, rolling him off her in a tangle of bodies and paws.

She tried to scramble up, but the damn cast made her as helpless as a beached whale. Cursing, she righted herself and crawled upward with her one good leg.

The cat roared in rage as Mad Dog, Jonah and Eli fought to subdue him. More of the Falcon secondary rushed in. Two high-powered rifles were up and trained on the tiger, ready to take a clear shot. She screamed at them to put the guns down.

Two more syringes stabbed into the cat’s fur. A final one in his neck finally made him go limp. His heavy body lolled to the side, and Jonah and Mad Dog cautiously inched away.

Eli came back to form beside Tyana as she pulled herself painfully across the floor toward D.

His arms came around her, and he tugged her to him as he examined every inch of her skin.

“Are you all right?” His hands framed her face, touching and reassuring himself.

“D,” she choked out.

The tiger’s eyes glazed as his head flopped to the floor under the power of the sedative. Already the Falcon secondary swarmed the room, their rifles all pointed at the helpless cat.

She tried to crawl toward the cat as he lay panting.

“Keep her away,” Jonah barked.

Eli hauled her back against his chest.

“Not now, sugar,” he murmured. “D will be all right. Let them take care of him.”

“I want this room secured,” Jonah ordered as he stood. He stalked over to where Tyana lay in Eli’s arms and squatted down in front of her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded shakily.

“Get her out of here. I’m locking this room down until he shifts back,” Jonah told Eli.

It was useless for her to argue. For once, she knew there wasn’t anything she could do, no argument she could wage. D had finally slipped beyond control. Tears clogged her throat, squeezing, relentless. Grief welled, sharp, like a blade. Always, always she’d been there to comfort him, to shield him as he’d shielded her. Only now, they would be separated. Jonah would never leave them alone...

 

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Chapter Twelve

Katie huddled under the steaming hot spray of the shower and let it pelt her skin until it was pink and raw. Even after she’d lathered her hair twice and soaped her body repeatedly, she stood still as the water cascaded over her.

She didn’t want to move. Ever.

But she had a strong suspicion if she didn’t get out soon, one of them would come haul her out.

With a regretful sigh, she turned off the water and stepped out, reaching for a towel. She dried briskly, taking care around the more tender parts. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she grimaced. Then she pulled the towel away and let her gaze trail down her body.

Her shoulders slid downward, and her eyes crossed with fatigue. She was starting to have some serious fantasies involving a pillow and a bed. Blankets were completely optional.

An irritated sigh escaped when she realized she’d neglected to bring clothes into the bathroom with her. And there was no way she was putting the nasty stuff she’d taken off back on.

She wrapped the towel around her and kept her arms pressed against the fabric so it had no chance of slipping down. Then she stuck her head out the door before exiting.

Braden was lying on the bed, eyes closed, and Ian was perched on the edge of the mattress, his expression brooding. Ian looked up at her, his eyes shuttered.

“I, uhm, just need to get some clothes,” she said in a low voice.

Ian stood. “Not yet.”

He walked toward her, and she blinked in surprise. His hand cupped her elbow, his touch gentle as he urged her toward the bed.

“You can keep the towel wrapped around you for now,” he said gruffly. “I need to tend to that cut on your foot, and then I’ll take a look at your arm.”

Braden opened his eyes and rolled to the edge of the bed before putting his feet down with a thud. He rubbed his face in a tired gesture then rose to stand beside her.

“Get the kit,” Ian told Braden.

Ian urged her down, and she sat awkwardly, keeping her gaze on her knees, bared just below the edge of the towel.

“Lay back and let me see your foot,” Ian directed.

She eyed him for a moment but did as he said. Her head bounced softly on the mattress as she settled down, and she focused on the ceiling.

Gentle hands covered the top of her foot and tilted it back as he examined the instep. His fingers were firm and warm against her skin.

Braden leaned over and took her arm, lifting as he examined the bruising and swelling.

How long had it been since she’d simply enjoyed the touch of another? Close proximity, the feeling of not being so terribly alone?

It was overwhelming and yet so deeply pleasurable that she couldn’t ask them to stop. She didn’t want them to stop.

These were concerned touches. Caring and light. There was no desperate mark of possession, no shouted words, no deep-seated insecurity.

She shivered even as she craved more.

Ian felt her tremble beneath his fingers. He saw raw vulnerability behind a flash of sudden tears, and it tore at his gut. Here was a woman unused to any sort of tenderness. She expected the worst, and it seemed she usually got it.

What the hell kind of life had she led, and why had Gabe left her to fend for herself?

Trying not to let himself be too affected, he put antiseptic on her cut and quickly bandaged it. Braden was carefully manipulating her arm, but other than a few winces, she didn’t seem too bothered by it.

He thrust the small bottle at Braden along with fresh bandages. “For her hand.”

Braden took the stuff from him and settled next to Katie, his hip close to her shoulder. Her fingers shook against Braden’s as he carefully pried them apart.

Ian eased down on her other side. “I need to look at your ribs, Katie,” he said in a low, soothing voice.

Color flooded into her cheeks, and her eyes flickered away, her gaze focusing on the wall.

Braden touched her cheek, running a finger down her delicate jawline. “Don’t be afraid,” he said quietly. “We just want to make sure you’re okay. I swear to you we won’t hurt you.”

She closed her eyes and slowly nodded.

Ian arranged the towel so that it hung loosely over her waist. He couldn’t cover her s and her pelvis and felt she’d probably be the least embarrassed to have them staring at her s.

Bruises were scattered along her ribcage, some the size of a fist, others smaller, purple fingerprints against pale skin. When he saw the dark smudges close to her s, his jaw tightened in rage.

“Did they rape you?” he demanded bluntly.

Braden yanked his startled gaze to his brother, and his brows drew together in admonishment.

Katie’s eyes flew open, and she too stared at Ian in shock.

“N-no,” she stammered.

“Did he try?” Ian pressed, not sure why it was so important that he know the depths of Ricardo de la Cruz’s depravity.

A dark flush stained her cheeks, and her eyes glittered with anger.

“I doubt he’ll be able to use that part of his anatomy for a long while,” she said darkly.

A grin flirted with the edges of Braden’s mouth. Ian relaxed, unaware of just how tense he’d been until some of the edginess left him.

“Okay, so what exactly did he do?” Ian asked as he tended to a cut just below her left .

She let out a sigh. “Does it matter? I have no plans to get caught by him again. I wouldn’t have this time if you two hadn’t slowed me down.”

Braden winced. “We were only trying to help.”

She turned to look at Braden for a long while. “I’d like to believe that. Really, I would. But I still don’t know why you’re here. You say Gabe sent you. Why? You hint that someone else is after me, but I’ve spent all my time running from Ricardo.”

Ian absorbed that latest piece of information. He and Braden exchanged glances, and then Braden cleared his throat.

“Why don’t you get dressed, Katie. Then we can have that conversation we talked about.”

Ian raised one eyebrow in question.

“We worked out a trade,” Braden explained. “While you were…sleeping. She gives us information, and we give her the same.”

Katie wrapped the towel around her body and struggled to sit up. Ian put his hand behind her neck and helped her forward. His fingers lingered at her nape, drawn to the softness of her skin. Tiny little goose bumps prickled and raced across her flesh, and her muscles quivered beneath his palm.

She wasn’t immune to him any more than he was immune to her.

Unsure what to do with that realization, he pulled his hand away and let her get up from the bed. For a brief moment, she hesitated and looked back at him, her eyes wide with equal parts confusion and uncertainty.

Then she clutched the ends of the towel tighter around her and grabbed her bag before heading to the bathroom.

“I get the distinct impression that we’re not going to like what we hear,” Braden murmured. “What could she possibly have done to make a man treat her like he has?”

“Sometimes a woman doesn’t have to do anything,” Ian said with a growl. “Maybe he just couldn’t take no for an answer. Whatever the case, we need to get her the hell out of the country.”

“So we can use her,” Braden said in a low, dissatisfied voice.

“Do you see another way?” Ian kept his voice as low as Braden’s. “Hell, Braden, I don’t like it either. She’s obviously had a shitty time, and God knows why Gabe left her alone, but do you really want to stay like this for the rest of your life? Half man, half wild animal with no control, no choice?”

He cupped his hand to the back of his head and rubbed up and down to the base of his neck in agitation.

“At least we’ll keep her safe. Hell, when was the last time you think she ate? Did you see how slim she is? She had, what, two hundred dollars on her? Yeah, we need her to draw out Esteban, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to throw her under the bus.”

Braden stared back at him, brief uncertainty flashing in his eyes before his lips drew together in a fine line. “No, I don’t want to be this way forever. But maybe…maybe we need to be realistic. There might not be a way to fix this, Ian.”

Chapter Thirteen

Katie took her time dressing as she pondered just how much to tell Ian and Braden. Of course how much she told them was solely dependent on what they told her. She still wasn’t convinced they weren’t full of shit.

Logic told her, not that she could be accused of being logical, that whoever they were, they weren’t involved with Ricardo. If so they would have hand-delivered her back into Ricardo’s hands when she’d escaped his house.

Instead they’d risked their lives to save her.

She frowned. No one did anything without reason, so what was theirs? What did they want with her? She didn’t buy that they were here simply because Gabe had sent them.

 

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As much as she’d avoided the details surrounding Gabe’s death, she realized she needed to know. Somehow, as much it pained her, her wellbeing was inexorably tied to Ian and Braden.

With a quick frown, she shoved her still-damp hair behind her ears and smoothed her hands down her T-shirt. For good measure, she pulled on the zip-up hoodie and left it open in front. It gave her added warmth, and she didn’t feel quite as exposed.

She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. As she stepped out, she glanced over to the bed to see Braden still sprawled out, his long legs dangling off the end.

When he saw her, he rose up on one elbow and glanced at Ian who was standing by the window. Then he patted the space on the bed beside him.

She ignored the summons and took refuge in the only part of the room where she didn’t feel overwhelmed by their presence. She stopped a foot in front of the door, careful to keep it easily accessible.

“We’ll just go after you, Katie,” Ian said calmly.

She fidgeted nervously and refused to meet his gaze. Instead she focused on Braden. “Talk,” she said huskily. “Why did Gabe send you? What happened to him?”

“I’m not talking to you when you’re standing there looking the world like you’re going to run the minute we say something you don’t like,” Braden said. “We can sit down and discuss this without resorting to violence.”

She stood unmoving for several seconds before she grudgingly relented and walked over to the bed. She sat on the corner opposite Braden and still a decent distance from Ian. To her utter irritation, they closed in on her, flanking her on both sides.

“How often was Gabe in contact with you?” Ian asked.

She pressed her hands into her lap. “I asked you a question first.”

Braden grunted. “There are some not very nice people who are looking for you.”

“What was your first clue?” she asked snidely.

“These people make Ricardo de la Cruz look like a kindergartner,” Ian said

Fear fluttered in her chest and ran circles around her throat. “Why?” she croaked. “What people?”

Ian’s face darkened. “The people Gabe sold us out to.”

Katie shot to her feet.

“Ian, what the ?” Braden’s angry voice rose over the red haze circling Katie’s mind.

“She wanted the truth. She’s getting it.”

“You’re a liar,” she spat. “Gabe is intensely loyal. He wouldn’t betray his team.”

“For you he would,” Ian said calmly. “Sit down, Katie. You wanted to hear everything and I’m telling you.”

She stood there paralyzed by the utter conviction in Ian’s voice. For you he would. What did it mean?

She sank back onto the bed.

“Tell me,” she said hoarsely.

“Gabe sacrificed himself for us,” Braden said gently. “For Ian and I.”

She turned to stare at Braden. “But Ian just said he betrayed you.”

Braden grimaced. “He did. It’s complicated. There were threats…against you. Gabe was trying to protect you. In the end it didn’t matter because they were going after you anyway.”

“They used me to make Gabe betray you?” she asked in bewilderment. “How did they know anything about me?”

“We didn’t even know about you,” Ian said. “Why is that, Katie? Why were you such a big secret?”

A dark flush heated her cheeks. “Because of Ricardo,” she murmured.

“Ah yes, Ricardo. Why is he after you? Why does he want you so badly? Is it simply a case of obsession and unrequited love?”

Her temper flared, and like so many times in the past, she let her mouth get ahead of her brain.

“I think it has more to do with the fact that I killed his brother than me refusing his sexual advances, though neither won me any points with him.”

As soon as the words flew out she clamped her mouth shut in disgust. Bad judgment and rampant stupidity clung to her like stink on shit. After so long of playing it safe, of finally making smart decisions, of keeping horrible secrets and taking charge of her life, she’d risked it all by letting a man rattle her.

“You killed his brother?” Braden asked in disbelief. “Damn, Ian, I think I’m in love.”

She bolted off the bed and whirled around, rage choking her, closing off her airway like a giant fist had seized her neck. Tears of pure fury burned her eyes. “You think it’s a joke?”

The grin disappeared from his face about the time her fist connected with his mouth. His head snapped back, and he had to plant his hand into the mattress to keep from falling.

She was instantly on guard and yanked around to check Ian’s position. He held up his hands defensively.

“Don’t look at me. Have at it. The dumbass deserved it.”

She turned back to Braden to see him rubbing his jaw, a scowl darkening his face.

“So much for not resorting to violence,” he grumbled. “Don’t have much of a sense of humor, do you.”

“Braden, stop it,” Ian barked. “You’re upsetting her.”

Braden’s expression softened. “Sorry. I’ve never been accused of having tact.”

Katie backed away. She just wanted to be gone. She bumped into Ian, and his arms came around her to steady her. His cheek rested against her hair, and his breath blew lightly over her ear.

Warm. It was her first thought. He felt warm and solid. She waited for the panic to hit, but all she registered was the ripple of awareness deep in her belly.

She found herself being turned around in Ian’s arms. He gripped her shoulders loosely and stared intently into her eyes.

“Level with me, Katie. Why did you kill Ricardo’s brother, and do we need to be worried about the police being on our es in addition to de la Cruz?”

She shook her head resolutely and drew her lips into a compressed line.

“We deserve to know what we’re up against,” he said.

“You’re not up against anything,” she said quietly. “I am.”

Ian shook his head. “Afraid not. We became involved when Gabe took a bullet meant for us and with his dying breath made us promise to protect you. Now you may not like it, and I’m sorry for that, but you don’t have a choice in the matter.”

She swallowed and then swallowed again, determined not to let emotion overrun her control. Gabe was still trying to look out for her even in death.

“Talk to me,” Ian whispered. “I’m not here to judge you. If he was anything like his bastard brother, I can see why you’d kill him.”

Her eyes watered and stung. She retreated, the backs of her knees bumping into the bed. Her hands flew to her face to cover the surge of tears as she slowly sank down.

“I’ve made so many mistakes,” she whispered.

A gentle hand crept over her shoulder, and she realized it was Braden. He’d scooted up beside her and sat mere inches away.

“We’ve all made mistakes, Katie.”

“And what if trusting you is yet another mistake?” she asked. “My instincts never lead me right.”

“And what are your instincts saying about us?” Ian prompted.

She glanced up to see him towering over her. “Not to trust you.”

“Well then if you can’t trust your instincts, and they’re telling you not to trust us, then I’d say maybe you need to do just that.”

“That’s twisted,” she muttered.

“Yeah, it is,” Braden agreed. “I like it.”

“Look at us as the lesser of two evils then,” Ian said patiently. “Whether you trust us or not, we need the whole story, Katie. You owe us that much at least.”

She went back and forth, the panic of her decision buzzing in her head like bees on speed. She swallowed back the edge of fear and took a deep breath.

“You didn’t know about me—no one knew about me—because Gabe didn’t know about me until I was a teenager. We had different fathers, and our mother wasn’t stellar parent material. She ditched Gabe when he was young. She ditched me when I was ten.

“I got into trouble when I was sixteen, and the cops tracked Gabe down. I’m still not sure how. He was just about to enter the service, so he didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of time to play big brother or try to straighten my out.

“He took me home, told me I could stay or leave but he wouldn’t be around to drag me back or bail me out of jail.”

“Sounds like Gabe,” Braden said dryly. “Not a very warm and fuzzy guy.”

“He was fine,” she said fiercely. “I didn’t need or want warm and fuzzy.”

“So he joined up. What then?” Ian asked impatiently.

 

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Into the Lair Page 17



“I stuck around his apartment. He arranged for the bills to be paid and left just enough money that I could eat, and not enough that I could get into trouble.

“We spent his leave together when he could get back. He didn’t pressure me or make demands. Just gave me a place to live and a way to survive. When I was twenty, I met Paulo de la Cruz and fell madly in love as only someone that young and stupid does.”

Braden made a sound that resembled a cross between a snort and a guffaw.

“You’re not very hard on yourself, are you?” Ian said.

“I’m aware of my faults.”

She rolled one shoulder as she prepared for the rest of the sorry tale.

“I was high on love and lust. Paulo was wealthy and came from a good family. He was everything I’d spent my life dreaming about. Roots. A big family. Security.

“When he took me to meet his family, Ricardo immediately put the moves on me. He made it clear he thought I was a whore for the taking. When I turned him down, it pissed him off. From then on out, he took every opportunity to convince Paulo that I was unfaithful.

“Paulo grew increasingly unstable. He got angry and started knocking me around. No matter what I said or did to prove my innocence, it only pissed him off more.

“And one night I fought back,” she said quietly.

“So you killed him in self-defense,” Braden said.

“I meant to kill him. I had a chance to escape after fending him off. I chose not to,” she said with steel in her voice.

“If you’re looking for reproach, you’re not going to find it here,” Ian said. “Bastard deserved what he got.”

Katie didn’t respond, but she expelled a sigh of relief. Somehow it felt good not to be judged. Ricardo had judged her a whore and then a murderer.

“I panicked and called Gabe. He got there a day later and helped me clean up the mess.”

Braden lifted an eyebrow. “Mess? You make it sound so domestic.”

“The body,” she said dully. “Gabe helped me get rid of the body.”

Ian whistled. “Why on earth didn’t you go to the police?”

Katie trembled and twisted her hands in front of her. “I know how stupid it sounds, but I’m not an idiot. I knew damn well that Ricardo had half the police department in his back pocket. I knew that just from things Paulo had said. I couldn’t risk going to them and having a fifty-fifty chance of picking the wrong cop to confide in. When I told Gabe everything, he agreed the best thing to do was get rid of the evidence and for me to haul out of there and start over somewhere else.”

“So how did Ricardo figure out you killed his brother?” Braden asked.

Katie sighed. “He doesn’t know for sure. What I mean by that is he didn’t see a body or anything, but he’s not stupid. He knew Paulo was knocking me around, and he also knows Gabe showed up, and I disappeared right after. He caught up to me in Vegas a year ago, and I didn’t deny it. Paulo would never disappear off the face of the earth. He was too tied to Ricardo’s will and completely under his thumb.”

“So back up to the part where Gabe helped you dispose of the body,” Ian said grimly. “He just took off afterward and left you to fend for yourself?”

Katie furrowed her brow. “He made sure I was safe, and he taught me how to take care of myself and how to always look over my shoulder. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t go AWOL, he damn sure couldn’t quit because his sister murdered someone, and he couldn’t just start hanging out with me either. Together we attracted a hell of a lot more attention than me by myself.”

“She has a point,” Braden conceded.

Ian scowled. “I fail to see how Gabe is the good guy here. He left her by herself with a deranged hole who wanted her blood. He had other options, and he damn sure didn’t use them.” He looked hard at Braden. “If she was your sister would you have left her behind like that?”

Braden pursed his lips, then glanced at Katie. Finally he shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Katie said firmly. She wasn’t about to let them rag on Gabe’s decision. He’d kept her alive, and that’s all she cared about.

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Ian said with a nod. “What does matter is that we get the hell out of the country before crazy-ass de la Cruz catches up with us.”

She ed her head and stared up at Ian. “Why out of the country, and where are we going?”

“Can you think of a better place?” he asked calmly. “Or maybe you want to hang around and let Ricardo play target practice with our es?”

She shook her head. “But I don’t have a passport. Right now I don’t have much beyond a driver’s license.”

“We can handle that,” Braden said. “We’ll worry about it when we’ve put an ocean between us and Ricardo.”

She nodded shortly then stared between the two brothers. “Now it’s your turn. Who are these people supposedly after me? You said Gabe sold you out but in the next breath, you say he took a bullet for you. So which is it? Is he a hero or a traitor?”

Chapter Fourteen

Braden grimaced. “He’s both.”

Katie stared up at him, pain and confusion brimming in her eyes. After hearing what she’d endured at the hands of the de la Cruz brothers, he had no desire to cause her more distress.

“He betrayed you for me? I’m to blame for his death?”

Ian cursed and backed away from the bed, his fists clenched tight at his sides. “You’re not to blame for the choices Gabe made, Katie. Gabe was a big boy. He didn’t have to do things the way he did. He could have come to us or to Eli. We’ve been out of the service for a while now. There was no reason to keep you a secret any longer.”

She blinked in shock. “What? He wasn’t enlisted anymore?”

Braden blew out his breath. Gabe was causing way more trouble dead than he’d ever caused alive. It was too bad he wasn’t around because Braden would be tempted to kick his for the way he’d taken care of Katie.

Hell, she’d been little more than a kid. Completely alone save a few visits when Gabe was on leave. The rest of the time she was left to fend for herself. Instead of doing the right thing when she was forced to kill a man in self-defense, Gabe only ensured that she’d spend the rest of her life running after he covered up the deed. Damn fool. He could have asked his team for help. They would have gladly given it.

And here she was, grateful for whatever morsels Gabe had doled out. Yeah, maybe he’d taught her to survive in a tough world, but he damn well should have been protecting her from predators like de la Cruz.

“No, he wasn’t enlisted any longer. None of us are, Katie. It’s why he damn sure should have come clean about you. We could have helped. We certainly could have gotten you the hell out of the country where you’d be safe.”

She twisted her hands in her lap and stared down at her fingers. “He talked about taking me to Argentina. But that was a while ago. Right after that he got weird. More distant and…paranoid. It went beyond the stuff with Ricardo.”

Braden exchanged glances with Ian. It was obvious that Gabe hadn’t told her shit about what had gone on during their mission to Adharji or the consequences. Which meant she didn’t know of her brother’s ability to become invisible or of Braden’s and Ian’s unstable shifts to big cats.

Ian cleared his throat and shook his head in warning at Braden.

A peculiar expression crossed Katie’s face followed by the slow downturn of her mouth. “If he wasn’t enlisted, why didn’t he come home? What have you been doing all this time? Or was this recent? Why did he keep so much from me?”

If she only knew just how much he’d kept from her.

Braden threw Ian another desperate look. Ian ran a hand over his head then settled on Katie’s other side.

“Look, Katie. I don’t know why Gabe did half the shit he did,” Ian said. “I can only tell you what I do know. He sold us out because there were threats against you. But in the end, he stepped in front of a bullet meant for us.”

“And he asked you to find me?”

“He wanted us to make sure you were safe,” Braden said gently.

She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. She rubbed tiredly then dragged her fingers through her still-damp hair. “Okay, so you swoop in and save me from the bad guys. What then? You say we’re leaving the country. That’s all well and good but I’ve got to come back sometime. What about these people you say are after me?”

Braden slid a hand over her shoulder comfortingly. An alarming prickle skirted up his spine and squeezed his nape. He snatched his hand away and cupped the back of his neck.

Ian shot him a sharp look, and Braden looked away, closing his eyes wearily.

 

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“One thing at a time, Katie,” Ian said as he stepped closer. Was it an attempt to get between Braden and Katie? The man appreciated the idea that Ian was ready to step in. The beast growled deep within.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

He sucked in deep breaths through his nose, his nostrils flaring with the effort.

“We’ll eliminate the threats as they present themselves,” Ian said calmly. “You won’t be alone anymore.”

Braden lost Ian’s voice as a dull roar began in his ears. He jerked up from the bed like a puppet and staggered toward the door, his only purpose to escape. Instead, from the void, he heard Ian’s harsh command for Katie to get out and stay out. Before he could protest, Ian tackled him.

They went down in a tangle on the floor, Ian’s heavy body sprawled over his. He struggled weakly, and then a cool blast of aerosol hit him in the face. Seconds later, the jab of a needle made him flinch. His body went lax and fatigue swarmed over him with the speed of a bullet.

He was dimly aware of the battle between the man and the cat. For a few moments, he felt what the cat felt, saw what it saw, smelled what it smelled. And then the beast retreated with a low snarl.

For the moment he’d won.

Ian’s low curses registered in the distance.

“Braden, talk to me, man.”

Braden groaned and tried to open his eyes but the sedative Ian had injected was too powerful. His body jerked as Ian hauled him to his feet, and he stumbled. He went down like falling timber, hitting the bed with a thump.

Ian looked down at his brother and swore. Then he swiveled and saw Katie staring from across the room. She was backed against the wall in a defensive posture, and her gaze was locked warily on Braden.

“What’s wrong with him?” she demanded. “What’s wrong with both of you? Do you have some sort of seizure disorder?”

Ian latched gratefully onto the opening she unwittingly offered, because he sure as hell had no intention of telling her just how close she’d come to being cat food.

“Something like that,” he muttered. “Look, we need to get on the road. We’re sitting ducks. Let’s get everything into the truck and then you need to help me get Braden out of here.”

She froze, her body stiff against the wall.

His eyes narrowed as he stared impatiently at her. “You’re not still holding on to the stupid idea of going it alone are you?”

A hysterical-sounding laugh escaped her lips. “You’re asking me to trust two ex-military guys with some funky seizure disorder who’ve done nothing but things up for me ever since they walked into my life. Yeah, real hard choice here.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you,” Ian said. “Get your things and head out to the truck or I’ll stuff you in the back myself.”

Rage flared in her eyes, and to his surprise, she stalked over and got into his face. Oh hell, did she have to get that close? He was already having a devil of a time keeping the cat from rearing its head. One whiff of her, and he’d be shit out of luck. Braden wouldn’t be able to help him this time.

“What you can do is back the off,” she snarled as she rose up on tiptoe to get a better angle into his eyes. “I am tired of men with more brawn than brains. I’m tired of being manhandled and pushed around. You touch me, and so help me God, I’ll castrate you.”

“I don’t have time for your tantrum,” Ian said in a bored tone. “If you want to stick around and let Ricardo’s men grab you so you can be his plaything then knock yourself out. Braden and I are out of here.”

It was chancy, calling her bluff, because he had a feeling she’d tell him to off and head out on her own. That wasn’t something he could let her do, not when she represented their best chance at drawing Esteban out.

Indecision flickered in Katie’s eyes as she glanced between him and Braden. For a moment he caught a glimpse of her bone-deep fatigue and the worry she tried so hard to conceal. Against his will, he softened.

With a brief shake of her head, she squared her shoulders and went over to grab one of the bags. She didn’t say a word as she left the room. Ian smiled slightly and turned back to Braden.

He was hoisting Braden up from the bed when Katie returned. All vestiges of vulnerability were gone, replaced by a hard shell. Her don’t-fuck-with-me look was back in spades.

“I’m not going to be a whole hell of a lot of help,” she muttered as she surveyed Braden’s sagging body.

“Just get underneath his other arm and make sure he doesn’t fall,” Ian said. “I’ll bear most of his weight.”

She shrugged and then wiggled under Braden’s other shoulder. She wrapped one arm around his waist and gripped his wrist with her other.

Ian headed for the door, dragging Braden’s considerable weight with him. Katie struggled but bore up well. They stumbled into the sunshine, and Ian squinted as he scanned the area. Things were quiet, and only the sounds of distant traffic permeated the air.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

They managed to shove Braden into the backseat and shut the door.

“Want me to drive?” Katie offered. “I have the most rest of any of us.”

Ian shook his head sharply. “Get in. Let’s go.”

She said something unintelligible under her breath but walked around to the passenger side. As she settled in, Ian remembered that they still hadn’t gotten food, and Katie had to be hungry. It wasn’t like she could afford to miss many more meals.

As soon as he had the thought, he shrugged it off. She wouldn’t starve, and right now, safety was more important than food.

He gunned the engine and drove back onto the highway. They still had several hours to go until they hit their rendezvous point, and the sooner they were in the air, the less antsy he’d feel.

“How uncontrolled is yours and Braden’s condition?” Katie asked.

He glanced over in surprise until he remembered the whole bit about the seizures. She sure didn’t pull any punches.

“We manage,” he said shortly.

“Look, I have a right to know what I’m dealing with,” she said. “You’re offering me protection. Well, you can’t very well protect me if you’re constantly freaking out and having to be medicated to the point of passing out. What the hell am I supposed to do if both of you freak out on me at the same time?”

“You shoot whoever’s after you,” Ian said calmly.

She snorted. “With what? You haven’t exactly been generous with contributing to my own self-preservation.”

“That’s because I can’t be sure you won’t shoot me or Braden,” Ian muttered.

“At least tell me what the hell I’m supposed to give you if you wig out,” she said.

Ian sighed. “There are syringes already filled in the back. Give us one of those and get the away from us. The guns are back there too,” he said after a brief hesitation.

It was true she deserved to know what she was dealing with, particularly since she needed to stay away from them if they shifted. They could kill her in shifted form. But if he told her that now, she’d not only think he lost his mind, but she’d never agree to leave the country with them. Better to fill her in on the kitty details in the air.

Every once in a while he caught Katie glancing over her seat to check on Braden. It amused him only because she went to such pains to make sure it didn’t look like she was concerned.

“He’ll be fine,” Ian said. “He’ll sleep it off and wake up a little muzzy-headed.”

She scowled and focused her attention out her window.

For an hour, they drove in silence. A few of the roads they took were barely ribbons snaking through the rough terrain. Ian flexed his hands around the steering wheel and worked his head back and forth to stretch his neck.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” she asked as she stared balefully at him from across the seat.

“Nah, I’m—”

The world went crazy around him. A sickening crunch. A jolt so severe that his hands left the steering wheel as his body backlashed. He vaguely registered that they’d been hit. Broadside. Before he could react, regain control of the steering wheel as they careened sideways, they were hit again.

Glass shattered and sparkled in his vision like rain. They rolled and then rolled again. The SUV came to a shuddering stop and bounced hard as it righted itself. They had spun completely around and were angled in the ditch with the driver’s side mashed against the ground.

Katie moved slowly, reaching groggily for her seatbelt.

“No,” Ian said harshly. “Stay where you are.”

Before she could respond, her door was wrenched violently open. A large man loomed over her. He glanced briefly down at Ian, but apparently discounted him as a threat. He slashed at Katie’s seatbelt with a knife and then grabbed a handful of her hair. She cried out in pain when he yanked her from the truck.

 

Into the Lair
Into the Lair Page 19



A pulse of adrenaline rocketed through Ian’s system, making him forget about his possible injuries or the pain that ricocheted through his head just moment ago.

He had to get to Katie.

He tried to move his legs and swore when he realized the dash was caved in around him. He wiggled his toes and was relieved that he didn’t seem to suffer any pain or loss of motion, but he couldn’t get free.

Goddamn it.

He twisted and tried to maneuver his upper body along the seat to get a different angle with his legs, but they didn’t budge.

A low snarl simmered through his throat. Feral. Animalistic. His breaths came in short bursts. Pants. His vision blurred, and pain began deep in his bones as they started reshaping.

For once he didn’t fight. He didn’t concern himself with what might be because if he didn’t make it to Katie, they’d kill her anyway. She’d have a better chance against the cat.

So he let go and surrendered to the intoxicating power surging through his veins. Warm and heady. The pain diminished as soon as he relinquished control.

“Braden!” he cried out with the last vestiges of humanity.

Where a moment before a man had lain trapped, a great cat arose and scented the air. Another growl rippled from his throat as he leaped from the vehicle.

Chapter Fifteen

Though every part of Katie shrieked in outrage, she forced herself to go limp until she could mentally examine herself for injuries. Her feet hit the ground with a resounding thump as one of Ricardo’s henchmen yanked her out of the vehicle. He obviously wasn’t concerned over potential injuries, which just told her she was going to die at Ricardo’s hands shortly.

Could things get any worse? Braden was unconscious in the backseat, and as far as she could tell, Ian was trapped in the driver’s seat. Which meant she was SOL when it came to any help from them.

Story of her life.

Her captor shoved her toward a waiting Ricardo who stood outside his untouched sports car, his expression furious. He backhanded her to the ground in one swift motion. She stayed down, nursing her throbbing cheek, knowing he wanted her to get up so he could go at her again.

Think, Katie, think. How on earth was she going to get herself out of this one?

A hand tangled in her hair and yanked her upright.

“Enough with the hair already,” she growled as she tried to shake free.

Instead of letting her go, the man tightened his grip and shoved her closer to Ricardo. This time when Ricardo hit her in the face, the man holding her prevented her from falling. Warm blood trickled down her chin, but she glared defiantly at Ricardo.

“Quite a man, aren’t you,” she jeered. “Have to have another man hold me so you can beat up on me? Are you afraid of me, Ricardo?” She let her gaze fall to his groin. “How’s the equipment, by the way?”

“Bitch,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m finished toying with you.” He withdrew a switchblade from his pocket and flipped the blade in front of her face in a series of fancy motions.

“I’m going to gut you like a pig and leave you on the side of the road to die.”

She bared her teeth and then spit at him, mimicking the time he’d done the same to her. It landed on his face, and his eyes widened in affronted shock.

He wiped the spittle from his cheek and stared at the back of his hand as if not believing she’d dared to insult him. She steeled herself for his retaliation even while she frantically searched for a way to escape.

The glint of metal flashed, and searing pain tore through her belly. She looked down to see the bright red bloom of blood spread across her abdomen. He’d slashed the knife across her skin instead of plunging the blade deep.

Painful and effective but not life-threatening.

He raised the knife again but a ferocious growl rippled through the air. It sounded so primitive, so vicious, that it raised the hairs at Katie’s nape.

Ricardo’s hand stopped in midair, and his eyes went wide with fear. The hold on Katie’s hair loosened, and the man holding her suddenly bolted away. She turned in time to see a big-ass cat leap from the interior of the SUV.

Before she could run, piss on herself or curl into a ball in a feeble attempt to protect herself, the cat streaked by her and launched itself at Ricardo.

Ricardo’s screams rent the air before a mouth closed around his throat, effectively silencing him. It was over so fast that Katie barely had time to register that she wasn’t having some bizarre hallucination.

Ricardo was sprawled on the ground under the weight of the animal, his eyes glassy and locked into a lifeless stare as his throat lay open and bleeding beneath the cat’s mouth.

Holy . The cat. Ian. Braden.

Her mind couldn’t even catch up in its frenzy to understand what she’d just seen. Not waiting to see if she’d be the jaguar’s next meal, she bolted toward the SUV. Only to find the driver’s side empty.

Seizure disorder, my .

A quick look in the back told her Braden was either still unconscious or dead. She couldn’t be sure which, and she wasn’t going to hang around and find out. Hell, he’d probably turn into a damn…well she didn’t know, but again, she didn’t want to find out. Her brain simply couldn’t comprehend what she’d witnessed.

She turned to see the cat shaking Ricardo like a rag doll. The other men had scattered like screaming girls, but they’d likely return.

She ran to the back of the SUV and prayed the door would open. It took some pulling, but she managed to crack it just enough to haul one of the ault rifles out.

Her stomach was bleeding heavily, and she spared only enough time to shove a balled-up T-shirt over it before she took off in the opposite direction. And then she heard gunfire.

Don’t turn around. Don’t do it. Get the out of here. Save your and don’t worry about the damn cat that’s currently having Ricardo for lunch.

She turned around, her gun up against her shoulder. Ricardo’s men were holed up behind their banged-up SUV. One dumbass had apparently shot at the jaguar and missed, and now the cat was stalking them.

Shit. If the cat was really Ian—and at this point, unless she believed in spontaneous combustion, she couldn’t come up with a better explanation—then the least she could do was keep the gunmen off his , or hide, or whatever the hell you called a cat’s skin.

She started to take cover behind the SUV but then realized that Braden was still inside, life status unknown, and if she started shooting at the bad guys they were going to shoot back, and if Braden wasn’t already dead, he’d soon be. The idea of either man dying did odd things to her. They’d done their damndest to protect her, and she could do nothing less than return the favor.

“You’re turning into a complete girl,” she muttered.

She dropped the bloody T-shirt and jumped the ravine the SUV had tumbled into. She scrambled up the incline and dove behind a clump of trees. On her belly, she slithered painfully forward, her blood mixing with the soil. Maybe if she got enough dirt packed in there, it would stop the bleeding.

Taking careful aim, she focused on the scene below her. Her first priority was to take out the lead gunman. The other two were pussies, and if she could nail the first guy, the others would probably tuck tail and run. Thank God for all the time she and Gabe had spent at the shooting range.

As soon as he stuck his head above the truck, she squeezed off a round. Blood arced through the air, splattering the metal hood as he fell. To his right, curses rang out as the other two men scrambled for cover like rats abandoning ship.

One made the mistake of running into the open. She nailed him before he took two steps. And darn, it wasn’t a clean shot, which meant the slimy little bastard would have to suffer for a while.

The other ran for Ricardo’s sports car. She clipped him in the leg, but he staggered on, diving into the interior. He peeled away in a cloud of dust, tires squalling as they made contact with the road.

Satisfied that she’d put an end to any immediate threat, she turned her attention to getting out fast. No way in hell was she going to stick around to see what plans the jaguar had, nor was she inclined to learn what wild animal Braden could turn into.

Seizures. Just what kind of a moron did they take her for?

As she darted through the trees, the reality of what she’d just witnessed hit her like a ton of bricks. A ing jaguar. What in the holy hell? People didn’t just turn into animals. Was she losing her grip on sanity?

She pressed on, ignoring the searing pain in her abdomen and the warm rush of blood coating her skin. And then she remembered the tracking device.

She reached up to her neck, barely slowing in the process. When she felt the slight protrusion, she yanked with her fingers. The sliver came free, and she tossed it on the ground.

Her energy was fast fading, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. She had to find a place to hide and regroup. Preferably where she was safe from a predator like a jaguar.