Falke’s Renegade pn-3

by Anna Leigh Keaton

  Heidi chuckled and closed the gap between them, knelt next to him. “It’s only been two days. How fast do you heal?” She touched the cast. “My brothers take at least a week, but none of them have had a broken femur.”

  Not that fast, but I feel my strength returning. I will be able to shift, at least once.

  She winced. Shifting with a broken bone would hurt like hell, and the leg would have to be recast afterwards. “Will you tell me your name now?”

  The big black head with gorgeous amber eyes swung toward her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, bury her face against his fur. He was the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen. But there was no time for such things now. Right now, he was her patient, and she had to literally save his life. Again. This time from a fate that could be worse than death.

  Javier Montero.

  “Nice to meet you, Javier.” Even his name was beautiful. “I’m Heidi.”

  Chapter Four

  How many brothers do you have? Javier asked while Heidi worked on removing his cast. He wanted to know how outnumbered he would be whenever the confrontation occurred—and it would. His pretty, petite vet might be naïve enough to think her brothers would let him get this close and not react, but he was under no such delusions. She was rare, and this town was their home. The men in her family would respond the same way he would if some stranger encroached on his territory.

  “Six.”

  Mierda.

  She met his scowl with a frown. “I take it by the volume, that’s a curse. You don’t have to worry. I can handle my brothers. It’s the pesky reporter we have to worry about.”

  She was wrong, but he didn’t argue the point. As soon as he was strong enough, he’d find his car and get the hell out of here. His fight was not with her family.

  She continued to work on his cast. “So, where are you from?”

  Nowhere.

  “What brings you here to Washington?”

  Nothing.

  “Is your name really Javier Montero?”

  He didn’t respond at all to that snarky question.

  Her frown deepened. “You don’t want to talk? Fine, keep your secrets, but just so we’re clear on one thing—this is my home.” Her tone lost all hint of hospitality and sharpened to a razor’s edge. Brash and bold.

  Extraordinary.

  “I will protect it because I have a lot more at stake than you do.”

  He snorted at that, which only riled her further.

  Her volume increased with her temper. “I refuse to uproot from the only place I’ve ever called home just because you were stupid enough to get your ass shot by an idiot with a rifle.”

  Her touch was not nearly as gentle as before, and a sharp pain in his leg made him flinch and hiss when she pulled the cast apart.

  Her furious gaze collided with his, and he snarled.

  “I’ve dealt with a half dozen arrogant, overbearing pumas all my life. One stubborn jaguar isn’t going to intimidate me, so knock it off.”

  Her fire impressed the hell out of him, but she was still a threat, or rather her brothers were. He needed to get away from her, this cage-“Knock it off, knock it off, squawk.”

  Better yet, put as much distance as possible between him, that damn bird and this whole fucking area. He didn’t need this complication. He had to find Durchenko—find him and kill him.

  “I’m all you’ve got,” she said around the bird’s annoying chatter. “The sooner you realize that, the better. So if you want to get out of here without your hide on a wall, you best find some way to trust me, ’cause if you can’t, how do you expect me to trust you?”

  He released a huff.

  Finishing with the cast, she got up, turned her back on him—a risk she took to make a point, he assumed.

  Foolish.

  At the door to his cage, she turned back and met his gaze once more. “Am I?” She shut the cage’s door. “You didn’t attack.”

  I... What could he say? She was right. He hadn’t even tried. My leg is broken.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “and we both know what a normal jaguar would’ve done, given the opportunity, regardless of his injury. But you aren’t a wild animal, at least not all the time. You’re a man. I trusted you this once. You’ll have to earn it from here on out.” She locked the cage door. “I’ll be back with your food. You’ll need to eat to have the energy to shift. And don’t try to stand on that leg. It hasn’t healed enough yet to support your weight without a cast.”

  Despite her warning, he still climbed to his feet on three paws and tested his ability to put weight on the leg. The pain alone was enough to prove her case, but he had to know for sure.

  He was stretched out on his side again by the time she returned with a carton of milk and a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, buttery biscuits and several thick slices of honeyed ham. Over her arm were some clothes, a pair of sweatpants and a cotton T-shirt, and under her arm was a pair of men’s sandals, which she dropped onto the floor.

  “Options were limited at the store. Beth had to guess your size, so these may not fit, but she opted for larger being better.” Heidi stopped outside the cage door and stared at him. “You want to share something?”

  He knew what she wanted—some sign of trust on his part. He could lie. She’d have no way of knowing whether he told the truth, but he decided to give her a morsel of honesty.

  I am from Mexico.

  “An illegal alien? Or tourist just passing through?”

  He’d crossed the border legally, but whether he was passing through depended on Durchenko’s next destination. And Javier wasn’t exactly on vacation. I have a stamped passport... in my car.

  “And your car is...”

  I am not sure. Last I recall, I was behind the wheel... headed for Seattle.

  “What kind of car is it? I could check with a friend at the police station, see if anyone reported finding an abandoned vehicle.”

  He stared at her for a long pause before answering. A Jaguar XK... black convertible.

  Her lips twitched, and he could tell she was trying not to laugh. She nodded, then lost her fight and snickered. “Really? Why am I not surprised?”

  He heaved a sigh and let her have a laugh at his expense. The car hadn’t belonged to him. It had been Isabela’s until two years ago, but he wasn’t about to explain that to the nosy vet.

  “Sorry.” Her expression turned serious once more. “They’re nice cars. I’ll see what I can do to help you find it.” She opened the cage door and set the food down, tossing the clothes near him. “Eat up, then change. I’ll wait just outside that door. There’s a new pair of boxer briefs stuffed inside the pants.

  Put those on, but hold off on the pants until after.”

  After what?

  “I need to look at your wounds, check the stitches and make sure there are no signs of infection.

  And I need to recast your leg. Hopefully the pants are loose enough to fit over the cast. If not, we can cut ’em into shorts. You want to chop ’em off anyway? It is summer after all.”

  I am used to warmer climates.

  “Right. I’ll bring the scissors just in case.” With that, she shut the cage door, leaving the padlock off this time, and stepped through one of the other doors to afford him some privacy.

  He made short work of the meal, enjoying the flavor of the honeyed ham the most, and then focused on shifting. The familiar tingle slithered along his spine, and his vision began to blur. Then the pain hit. He set loose a roar that stuttered into a deep base scream as he completed the transformation.

  Zapped of energy, he collapsed on the cold, concrete floor, unable to garner enough strength to dress.

  Outside the door, Heidi had just returned with the scissors, fresh bandages and casting materials when she heard him scream.

  “Heidi?” Beth came running down the hall, but Heidi stopped her.

  “I’m fine. Go check the windows while I check on him.” Beth had told her Shirley had g
one, but that didn’t mean the woman wasn’t staked out nearby, and Heidi wasn’t sure how soundproof her garage was. When Beth hesitated, she added, “Go. The last thing we need is for someone to come charging in here to see what the noise is all about, or worse, call 9-1-1.”

  Beth nodded and headed for the lobby.

  Maneuvering her supplies in her arms, Heidi managed to open the door and head in to check on Javier only to find him still nude and collapsed on the floor.

  “Damn it.” She dropped her supplies and entered the cage, touching his shoulder.

  “Get out,” he snapped, curling into a fetal position, except for his wounded leg.

  Tetchy. “I’m a doctor.”

  “You’re a vet.”

  “Same difference to the likes of you.” She grabbed the muscle shirt Beth had bought and covered the man’s privates, but not without noticing he had a nice package.

  Shame she didn’t have more time to admire his physique, but she chastised herself for such wayward thinking. He was in pain, irritable, needed her help, and they were still in danger of discovery. She had to get his leg treated, recast, and get him removed from her clinic before anything else could go wrong. The last thing she needed was authorities showing up to ask why she was now treating a man with a gunshot wound in her garage, or worse, why the man’s wound was similar in location and type to the one Ritchie claimed to have caused in a black panther.

  “Hold still. I’ll do this as quickly and painlessly as possible.” She retrieved her supplies, checked the stitches to see both wounds had already begun to heal with no sign of infection. That was the good news. The bad was his leg was still obviously fractured, and the shift hadn’t helped in that regard.

  She rewrapped the thigh, slipped on a stockinette and Webril to protect his skin, and then formed a new cast that covered a majority of his leg, from upper thigh to midcalf. “You’ll feel some heat. I’m using warmer water so the cast will set quicker.”

  He grunted but didn’t open his eyes.

  Although she allowed for a partial bend at the knee, she didn’t want him moving it too far or putting pressure on the femur. Once the cast set, he should be able to walk with crutches or sit easily enough with his leg at a stationary angle.

  While she worked, he held the shirt in place over his crotch and kept his eyes closed, his breaths steady.

  “All done,” she announced, cleaning up what was left unused. “Can you...”

  She forgot the question when he opened his eyes to look at her. In human form, they were the same amber color, their brilliance trimmed by thick black lashes.

  He had a full head of short hair, dark as a moonless night, and a handsome angular jaw line shadowed with a two days’ growth of whiskers. Chiseled features captured her imagination and sent her fantasies on a new course.

  “What’s the matter, chata? Cat got your tongue?” His lips curled into a smirk that made her heart stutter.

  She blinked, shook her head and lied. “Not at all. Can you get dressed? Or do you need help?”

  He glanced at his clothes and then himself, his shirt still strategically held over his groin. “Perhaps with the one leg.”

  Swiftly, she grabbed the underwear out of the pants and threaded his right foot through one leg hole, leaving the garment below the bottom edge of his cast but well within his reach.

  “You’ll need to wait about ten or fifteen minutes for the plaster to harden before you can pull up your clothes. It’ll take at least a day for it to fully cure.” She repeated the procedure with the sweatpants without looking any higher than his knee.

  “Gracias, chata.”

  Damn, if the man’s voice wasn’t as sexy audibly as it was telepathically. “My name’s Heidi, and you’re welcome.” She climbed to her feet and turned before she could give in to a desire to watch him dress. She desperately wanted another peek at what lay beneath that shirt. “I...uh...I’ll go check on whether the coast is clear and get your crutches.”

  When she returned several minutes later, he was dressed and had even gotten to his feet with the help of the cage fencing. He stood, breathing a bit heavily and leaning against the fence near the unsecured doorway. Even wilted with pain and exhaustion, he was an imposing figure, well over six feet tall, all muscle.

  “Going somewhere?” she asked, a mild attempt at keeping her tone light.

  His dark lashes lifted, and again his heated gaze penetrated her to the bone. “Not without you, doctor.”

  “Or these.” She held out the crutches, ignoring his acidic response. “If you haven’t worn yourself out with impatience, hobble this way. My Land Rover’s outside, and our audience has left...for the time being.”

  As they made their way through the clinic, however, the front door opened, and Ritchie walked in.

  Beth was on the phone with a customer, leaving Heidi to deal with her untimely visitor.

  “Hey, Heidi. I stopped by to check on our panther.”

  She sensed more than saw Javier tense beside her, so she slid a palm over the small of his back.

  “Black panthers don’t exist—”

  “You said it wasn’t a cougar.”

  “Right.” Before he could speak again, she asked, “Ritchie, why did you have to contact the media?”

  He frowned, casting a quick, wary glance at the scowling man beside her. “I didn’t. Shirley contacted me. She saw a picture I posted to Facebook. Why?”

  “I don’t need her harassing my customers or trespassing on my property trying to get a picture of a thing that doesn’t exist.”

  “But the cat’s real. I shot it.”

  Her palm balled into a fist, grasping some of Javier’s shirt. “Yes, you shot a jaguar, an animal, I might add, that is on the endangered species list, which could land you in a lot of hot water if it dies.”

  “But I thought it was a bear.”

  “You honestly think that’ll matter if the authorities realize what you really shot? You’ve heard the uproar the environmentalists make over fur coats and lab rats. What do you think they’ll do if they learn a hunter shot an endangered jaguar in a state where there are so few already.”

  None really, but she didn’t elaborate.

  “Shit, I didn’t think of that.”

  She sighed. “I know. Look, I denied having any big cat here, and I told Shirley you were just playing a prank. So long as the animal survives, you should be off the hook.”

  “Okay.”

  “But I’d appreciate it if—I’d suggest you try to spin this on your Facebook page or wherever else you posted it as a hoax, a doctored photographic prank. A joke that got out of hand.”

  He frowned but nodded. “I can do that, and I’ll talk to Dave too.”

  “Good. You do that.” Relief coursed through her, and she let go of Javier’s shirt.

  “Can I see it? It’s going to live, right?”

  She smiled. “Yes, he is. But he’s not here anymore. I’ve transferred him elsewhere with better security and proper facilities to help with his recovery and reintroduction back into the wild.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Ritchie glanced at Javier again. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you later then.” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder. “Gotta get back to work anyway.”

  “Ritchie.” When he paused, she gave him a quick a hug. “Thanks again for calling me. You might’ve made a mistake, but you did the right thing and helped save the cat’s life. That’s something to be proud of.”

  His expression brightened. “Sure, sure. Thanks. See ya later.”

  “Bye.” She watched him walk out then said to the silent giant beside her, “Let’s go.”

  Javier waited until he was seated in the passenger’s seat, his crutches in back, and she was behind the wheel before he spoke. “Your boyfriend?”

  “No. An old friend.” She cast a sideways glance his way. “Don’t even think about getting revenge.”

  He huffed and stared out the window.

  “I mean it. Ritchie is a nice guy,
and if he hadn’t called me when he realized you weren’t the black bear he was hunting, then you wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

  “Is that what this is?” He didn’t look her way.

  “Of course, what do you think it is?”

  “You dictating to me what to do.”

  Her lips twitched. The man was so...alpha. “Call it whatever you like. Ritchie is a friend of mine, and I’m in the business of helping save lives, not condoning the harming of them. So if you want my help, you’ll have to abide by a few rules.”

  That made him turn his head as she braked for a stop sign at a four-way intersection. “Those rules are?”

  She kept her eye on the road and hands on the wheel, maneuvering through light traffic. “No harming anyone I care about. That includes family, friends, or casual acquaintances.”

  “Am I not permitted to defend myself?”

  “Of course, but that won’t be necessary.”

  He scoffed at that, but she chose not to respond.

  They were a few blocks down the road before he spoke again. “Where are you taking me?”

  “My home.”

  He muttered something she didn’t catch, although the tone left no doubt to his intended sarcasm.

  “Don’t worry. You’re virtue is safe with me,” she teased, trying to lighten his mood. The man could scowl a hole through granite.

  He snorted, but she noticed a brief twitch to his lips.

  Chapter Five

  Heidi sat behind the wheel of her SUV, the engine off, scanning the windows of her home, searching...preparing.

  “Nice house,” Javier said. “Big.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What are we waiting for?”

  She ignored his question. “Can I trust you to stay put?”

  Before he could respond, one of her fathers stepped onto the front porch. Dressed in a stylish pair of beige slacks and an evergreen golf shirt, Fridrik moved into the sunlight, both hands on the rough-hewn log rail that spanned the space between the thick tree trunks acting as support beams for the roof.