Though they were far away, she could make out Matthew as he came on stage, his wife Catherine by his side, carrying their son, Devon. The dragon shifter said a few words, made a joke or two, then finally, declared the carnival open.
A dazzling display exploded in front of them as the lights turned on, starting from the fifty-foot tall tree in the center and then spreading out across the entire park.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered.
A pair of strong arms came around her, and Cam rested his chin on top of her head. With a contented sigh, she sank back against him, allowing his warmth and scent to surround her. Her cat purred contentedly.
Turning around, she pressed herself up against him, then looked up into his blue-violet eyes. His chest rumbled as he bent his head down.
God, I’ve missed this so much, she thought as their lips touched. Which was impossible because it had only been a week since their last kiss, but it was as if she’d been starving for his lips for years. His firm mouth moved over hers in a gentle caress, his arms tightening around her. Tonight, she thought. She had to have him tonight or she’d go crazy. But first …
“Everything okay?” he panted when she pulled away. “Didn’t you like it—”
“Oh yes, I did.” She nipped at his lip. “But … we need to go down to the carnival, now!”
Grabbing his hand, she tugged him back toward the park. They laughed and giggled like teenagers as they made their way to the main carnival area where there were various booths set up as well as food trucks, concession stands, a skating rink, and even a carousel and Ferris wheel.
“What would you like to do first?” he asked.
“Everything,” she laughed. “C’mon.”
They went to the rink first, and J.D. couldn’t help but crack jokes about polar bears and ice skating, especially when Cam fell down twice. Then they lined up for the Ferris wheel where they made out the entire time, and afterward, checked out some of the craft booths. Cam, despite being grumpy because she wanted to look at every stall, insisted on buying her every ornament she glanced at.
“I’m starving,” she declared. “But I also want you to win me a stuffed animal at the games.” The carnival always overwhelmed her, but having Cam with her this year made her extra excited. “And—oh look! I think I see Jason and Christina Lennox.” She pointed toward the Christmas tree where the younger of the Lennox dragon twins was standing with his mate. “Geez, she looks ready to pop,” she noted, seeing Christina’s protruding pregnant belly. “Let’s go say hi.”
“Uh …” Cam stuck a finger in his collar and pulled at it. “How about you go and say hello, and I’ll get us some food and drinks. Then afterward, we can check out the games, and I can win you the biggest stuffed animal they have.”
“Ooh!” She clapped her hands together. “I have my eye on that purple dragon at the milk can game.” Leaping up, she kissed him on the cheek. “All right, champ. I’ll meet you there, okay?”
He seemed oddly relieved. “Yes. And, J.D.?”
“Yes?”
“Afterward … tonight …”
“Yes.” She winked at him. “Why do you think I let you drive and left my car at the garage?” She already knew they wouldn’t be needing two cars to go their separate ways tonight.
Desire glittered in his eyes. “Yes, that too. But … we should also talk about other things. More … details you should know before we …”
“Cam,” she began and curved her hand on his cheek. “Unless you’re going to tell me you’re a homicidal maniac, there’s nothing you can say that would make me not want you.”
Earlier in her office, she had seen the signs of fear and anxiety on his face and body language. She had recognized it because Damon had been like that when he came home from the Special Forces, though Cam’s case was mild compared to her best friend’s PTSD. When she dealt with it, she had figured out that it was best for Damon to open up to her without any pressure and reveal only the pertinent details. “So, don’t you sweat the small stuff, okay?”
Closing his eyes, he covered her hand with his and kissed her palm. “I don’t deserve you.”
The butterflies in her stomach fluttered. “Oh, you … now go get my food,” she said, playfully pushing him away. With one last smile, he turned and walked toward the concession stands.
She stood there, watching him disappear into the crowd, anticipation making her giddy for tonight. Her cat mewled impatiently, but she told it everything would be worth it.
Whirling around, she frowned as she realized that Jason and Christina were no longer where she last spotted them. Maybe they walked around to the other side. Shrugging, she strode toward the display. Even if I don’t get to see them, I haven’t seen the tree yet and—“Hey!” Someone brushed past her, making her tumble forward. As she wobbled to regain her balance, hands grabbed her to steady her. “Thanks—oomph!”
The wind whooshed out of her as she felt a blow to her abdomen, sending pain shooting through her. Her feet lifted off the ground, then everything turned upside-down.
Shock and confusion paralyzed her. Her cat, on the other hand, hissed at her to get it together.
“What the fuck!” she shouted. “Is this a joke?”
Something was stuffed into her mouth to prevent her from speaking, then her vision went dark as she felt rough cloth go over her head. Her brain’s synapses shot off, trying to make sense of what happened because this was not a joke. She was getting kidnapped.
She struggled to get free, but the grip around her tightened. Her body bounced as her kidnapper picked up his pace. It was difficult to get the air back in her lungs as an obstruction blocked her nostrils each time she tried to breath in. They put some kind of hood over my head. It was disorienting, to have her vision impaired while being upside-down, but she managed to unsheathe her claws, then raked it over the first thing she could reach.
“Oww!” Her kidnapper screamed as her claws dug into flesh. “Bitch!” The bouncing halted.
“Goddammit, Murray, why the hell are you stopping? We gotta get—”
“Damn bitch has claws!”
You’re Goddamn right I have claws!
“Tie her up!”
Oh no you don’t! Her only escape was to shift into her cat.
“Get away from her!”
There was a shout, followed by the sound of a scuffle. She was preparing to shift when she felt her body drop to the ground. Her elbows and knees hit the ground, shooting pain up her limbs.
“Bitch! You’ll pay for scratching me up!” A booted foot slammed up into her face, sending her reeling onto her back.
“Bastard! Get the fuck away from her!”
She was still in a daze, but the pain in her jaw slowly brought her back. It took her another second, but she finally oriented herself. Whipping the hood off, she got to her feet and spit out the fabric stuffed in her mouth. “Blech!” Blood tasted like iron on her tongue.
“J.D., are you all right?”
Lifting her head, she stared up into the familiar face of Roy Jorrell. “R-Roy? What are you doing here? Oh my God, you’ve been hurt!”
There was a deep cut on his cheekbone. “’S nothing,” he snorted, rubbing the blood off with the back of his hand. “Are you all right? I thought I saw you back there, and then those guys came out of nowhere and—” Anger blazed in his eyes. “Those fucking bastards hurt you.”
Her entire jaw was on fire, and she spit out the blood pooling in her mouth. “Oh … fuck!” Adrenaline seeped out of her system, and her muscles went limp. Roy caught her as she staggered forward. Her cat didn’t like that and swiped its claws at him. “Th-they tried to … what did you see?”
His arms tightened around her as he pressed his cheek to hers. “I was on my way to check out the Christmas tree when I thought I spotted you. Then these two guys come out from nowhere and picked you up, then ran off. I thought … I went after them and tackled one of the guys.”
“Thank God you saw me.�
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“Why would they do that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. But—” A thought popped into her head.
A couple weeks back, she and Dutchy had unwittingly stumbled upon a shifter poaching operation in the mountains. The perpetrators captured her and Dutchy, but she was able to escape by shifting and got help. Krieger had killed all of the poachers, and Jason and Christina, who ran the Shifter Protection Agency of Blackstone, found the rest of the shifters they had kidnapped. “I need to go find someone.”
“Go find—J.D., you were almost kidnapped!” Roy’s grip tightened on her. “Why don’t you let me help you get calmed down, and then maybe we can—”
“Look, I appreciate you coming to my rescue, I really do, Roy.” She pried herself away from him. “But there could be bigger things at play here.”
“B-bigger things?” His expression became inscrutable.
“Yeah. Again, thank you, but I need to go find Jason and Christina Lennox. You go and enjoy the carnival.” Her cat very much agreed with that, wanting to get away from him and clean off the stench of his feathers from their body. Why are you such a drama queen? she scolded her cat. He helped us, for crying out loud.
The feline wrinkled its nose and let out what sounded like a hmph sound as it whipped its tail.
Weirdo.
“I’ll help you find them,” he offered.
She very much wished he had said otherwise, but she couldn’t waste any more time. “All right, let’s go.”
It turned out her kidnappers didn’t get her very far. They had veered off the main path, into the thicket surrounding the park. Hmmm. Where would they have taken her, though? They couldn’t have hidden a car there. Maybe a motorcycle? And why wouldn’t they try to drug her first? It just didn’t quite add up.
She dashed back toward the tree, but didn’t see any sign of Jason or Christina.
“Who are we looking for?” Roy asked as he came up beside her.
“You’re still here?” She couldn’t stop herself from saying it aloud. “I mean … I’m looking for … Jason!” There he was, along with Christina, standing by the skating rink. There was also a third person with them. Cam!
Her inner cat urged her to go to him. Not that she needed any more encouragement. Her feet practically flew off the ground as she raced to her mate and launched herself at him.
“… said she was coming to meet you, but—J.D.? Oomph!”
“Cam,” she breathed, rubbing her face against his shirt. “Oh, Cam.”
“Where were you?” He gently pried her away. “I—” The expression on his face changed from relief to confusion and then anger. “What the fuck—you’re hurt.” Blue-violet eyes filled with rage as he gently cupped her jaw.
“It’s already healing,” she assured him. “But I need to—” Remembering why she was looking for them in the first place, she turned to Jason and Christina. “Thank God you guys are here.”
“J.D., what happened?” Christina asked, a mask of concern on her face. “Cam said you were coming to say hi to us.”
“I was.” She frowned, then turned to Cam. “I thought you were going to wait by the milk can game.”
“I was.” His jaw tensed. “But I … I changed my mind and wanted to say hello to Jason and Christina as well. What the hell happened?”
“She was kidnapped,” Roy said. “I saw it happen.”
“Kidnapped?” The fury from Cam and his animal radiated off him in waves. “And who are you?” he asked in a murderous tone.
“Cam, please.” Oh boy. “This is Roy. We went to school together and—”
“I’m the guy who rescued her,” Roy snarled back. “Who the hell are you?”
“Her mate,” he growled possessively as he took a step forward.
Shock and confusion crossed Roy’s face. “You’re—”
“Mate?” Jason finished, dark brows crinkling. “Oh, congratulations. No wonder you were going crazy when you couldn’t find her.”
Cam cleared his throat. “Can we talk about this later? Right now, we need to find out why someone would fucking dare hurt my mate!”
“That’s why I was looking for you too,” J.D. said to the other couple. “It could be the poachers.”
“Poachers?” Roy and Cam said at the same time.
“Yeah, a while back, me and Dutchy—”
“J.D.” Jason’s warning, dominant tone made her snap her mouth shut. The meaningful look he shot her reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to talk to anybody about the poaching incident. After all, The Shifter Protection Agency, which she herself had only found out about during the rescue, was supposed to be a secret.
Jason cleared his throat before addressing Roy. “So … Roy, right? I’m Jason. Did you go to Lennox High?”
“Yeah, before I moved away in grade eight. Moved back a couple of weeks ago.”
“Thanks for coming to her rescue, Roy. But don’t worry, we’ll take it from here now.” Jason’s tone was firm, the meaning behind it clear.
“But—”
“You’ve done so much, putting yourself in danger, and we can’t risk you getting more involved. It’s … a family matter now,” Jason insisted. “And we’d like to keep it private, if you don’t mind.”
Roy took a step toward her, provoking Cam to growl at him.
She placed a soothing hand on his arm. “Just give me a sec, okay?” Turning to Roy, she took a deep breath. “Thank you so much, Roy. For what you did. Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there.” Her cat let out a miffed sniff, as if saying, We can take care of ourselves. “But … I think Jason is right.”
“If you’d like,” Jason began, “I saw Deputy Carson right by the Ferris wheel. We can go over there and tell him what happened. But then he’ll want all of us to come down to the station and conduct interviews and file a report … and that could take all night.”
“I, uh …” Roy stammered. “I suppose you can get that all sorted with the authorities.”
“My lawyer will take care of it,” Jason assured him. “That’s what I pay him for. Besides, maybe it was just some kids playing a stupid prank. Did you see who they were or what they looked like?”
“Um, yeah, I guess they could have been teenagers messing around. They were both wearing dark hoodies, boots, and jeans.”
They didn’t sound like kids. But J.D. kept that thought to herself because Jason was trying to throw Roy off.
“Let’s exchange contact info,” Jason said. “Christina, sweetheart, why don’t you take J.D. to the Lennox Corp. VIP lounge and get her a drink?”
“Of course,” she said. “Come with me.”
“Wait.” Roy turned to J.D. “Are you gonna be okay?”
Cam grit his teeth. “She’s with me. Of course she’ll be—”
She sent him a warning glare, then addressed Roy. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks again. Next oil change is on me, okay?” She only hoped his next five thousand miles wasn’t too soon.
“All right. Stay safe, J.D., and I’ll see you around.”
Before Cam could react, she tugged at his arm. “You said there was a lounge around here? And booze?” she asked Christina.
“Yeah,” Christina said with a chuckle. “C’mon. Jason will join us once he’s done with your friend.”
Christina led them around the skating rink, back to where a large tent had been set up. Above the entrance was a sign with the logo of the Lennox Corporation. Upon seeing Christina, the burly guard at the front opened the flap to let them in.
“Wow,” J.D. exclaimed as she drank in the surroundings. “So, this is how the other half lives.”
Though it looked like any canvas tent from the outside, the inside was richly decorated, with plush carpets, leather seats, brass chandeliers overhead, and even a full-sized bar with a bartender in a white tuxedo mixing up drinks. There were a few people in the lounge, so Christina took them to a quiet corner where two leather couches were set up.
“Please, hav
e a seat.” She herself eased down on one of the couches, hand on her back as she let out a sigh. “Whew, my feet are killing me.” Her hand landed on top of her pregnant belly.
“When are you due?” J.D. asked as she and Cam took the opposite couch.
“In two weeks,” Christina answered. “Although I’m just about ready to send these guys an eviction notice.”
“These guys? You’re having twins?”
She nodded. “Yeah. And no, I don’t recommend it.” Turning to Cam, she asked, “You’re not a twin, are you, Cam?”
“Uh, no.”
“Thank your lucky stars,” she joked to J.D. “Anyway, tell me what happened.”
Taking a deep breath, she gave Christina as much details as she could recall. Of course, with each passing second, Cam only grew more and more agitated.
“Bloody blighters,” Cam bit out. “Why are we sitting around here when we should be out there looking for those men who hurt you?”
“I’m already healing,” J.D. pointed out. “And they didn’t succeed.”
“Not tonight,” he countered. “What the hell are you going to do about this?” he asked Christina. “Are you even taking this seriously? Do you care that—”
J.D. gripped his arm. “Cam!”
Christina calmly raised a blonde brow at him. “I know you shifter males can be unreasonable when it comes to your mates, so I’ll let that slide,” she began. “But I can’t cause a panic over two would-be kidnappers. We have private security all over the place and a few SPA agents going around incognito. Jason should be informing them of what happened by now, aided by your friend Roy’s description.”
“Who was that tosser anyway?” he asked J.D.
“Just a guy I went to high school with. And if he wasn’t there—wait, are you jealous?”
“I told you, I do not get jealous,” he harrumphed. “But I do not appreciate my mate coming to me stinking of another male’s feathers.”
J.D. shot to her feet. “What the hell are you insinuating, Spenser?”
“All right, all right, just calm down,” Christina said wryly. “J.D., sit before you send me into premature labor. Cam, I would suggest you put your shifter male ego aside and think before you open your mouth.”
Blackstone Ranger Scrooge: Blackstone Rangers Book 6 Page 10