by Lauren Dane
“Don’t get used to it, but why don’t I make you a plate? It’ll give you a chance to sit and visit, and I can mill around. I know there are already rumors about Ramon so why not just be up-front and in their faces?”
When he leaned down to kiss her, she whispered in his ear instead. “I believe in you and all your limitless potential, Max. You can do this.”
He took her hands and slipped a ring on her finger, catching her totally off guard. “I’ve had this for a few weeks. I wanted to give it to you at the right time. Since we’re about to start an even wilder ride than marriage, I realized this might be it.”
She looked at it, at the band filled with diamonds, and knew he got her more than anyone else ever could. It was a simple ring. Not flashy, though certainly filled with plenty of awe-inspiring sparkle. He knew her and that filled her with so much pleasure she nearly made a very girly squee sound. Instead she grinned up at him, not caring who saw it, throwing her arms around him for a big hug as she thanked him before nuzzling his neck.
“I take it you like the ring?” His pleasure rolled through their bond.
“I love it. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You know that, right?”
His smile softened. “I never knew what it meant to be in love before you. Making you smile has become one of my to-do list items every day. Now, go get me some food, woman, before I grow breasts and turn into a girl with all this talk.”
She laughed, swatting his very fine behind and ambling off toward the big buffet table.
Max watched her through the evening. Watched as she charmed those members of his family who may have been on the fence. Watched as they assessed her now that they knew she’d tossed Ramon on his ass.
She didn’t really get it, not yet, but that bit of viciousness from her had taken her light-years forward in the eyes of his cats. Of their cats. When his father made the announcement, which would be any moment now as he was just finishing his ramble about some upcoming family stuff, the other cats would understand that Kendra was more than capable of running the jamboree and protecting them from threats.
He still wanted to kill Ramon for daring to move against his wife though. Oh and his stupid, fuck-all brother who’d lost his damned mind.
Renee shifted, leaning closer to Kendra. The sisters had created a bond he admired and knew would serve them both well. Renee was very well respected after years of struggle to make her place in the jamboree, and Kendra openly credited that with her own success. They were unified and strong, and it pleased him inordinately to see it.
“Lastly this evening, I wanted to let you all know I’m turning the jamboree over to my next-in-line and his wife as of right now. It’s not much of a surprise as Max has been the declared next-in-line for nine years now. Imogene and I have discussed it amongst ourselves and then with Max and Kendra, and we have every confidence they will lead this jamboree into a new era blessed by even more success and happiness.” Cesar delivered the lines and smiled at the assembled group like he hadn’t just tossed a bomb into their midst.
Kendra looked to Max, showing him her heart on her face. He’d needed that just then and sent her a grin back as he hauled her to her feet, bracing an arm around her waist to hold her there.
“I know we haven’t had a transition here in over thirty years, so I wanted to encourage everyone to remember my door is always open if you have a concern or question. Kendra and I really look forward to this new phase. I’ll shut up now so we can get to dessert.”
Galen stood, bowing his head. Gibson followed. Diana, Christina and Armando and, much to Max’s surprise, Beth.
Nearly the entire rest of those assembled followed. It wasn’t fake, the rush of fidelity and trust swelled through the bond his father had handed him. He held them all inside, and instead of fear, he realized how monumentally awesome it was to experience.
Kendra, while touched by the show of support by nearly everyone in the room, wasn’t impressed by those who didn’t show it. Carlos sat sullenly as far from them as he could and still be in the room. A few like him dotted the space, and she wanted to knock some sense into them.
She kept her eyes on him, waiting for the moment when he peeked up from his pout, and when he did, she sent him a look that told him just what she thought of his behavior. It might have been small to be pleased by the way he flinched, but so be it.
She had no doubts at all that he was guilty of what Gibson alleged. She knew Gibson well enough, had seen him at work often enough to know he didn’t play around when it came to investigation and building a case. If he took it to Cesar, he could back it up. And given what a disgusting, cowardly piece of crap Carlos was, it wasn’t as hard for Kendra to believe it as she thought it might be for those who loved him, like Max.
She narrowed her eyes at Carlos as he dared to glance at her again. This time he actually tried to hold her gaze in challenge, and she simply stared, unblinking, letting him see every ounce of loathing she had for him.
Max squeezed her as they sat back down. “What’s going on?”
“Pffft. Just letting Carlos know what I think of his not standing up.”
Gibson barked a laugh and patted her hand. “Aw, bebe, you’re going to do just fine. Do you have a few minutes later on? At your house? We can talk about the other work I’m doing.”
Jack leaned around Galen, stealing a stuffed mushroom from his plate as he did. “I’d like to be in on that one. I have some new information as well.”
“Why don’t we head over there after dinner then?” Max slid a thumb along the inside of her wrist as he spoke, sending a slow pulse of pleasure through her system, fogging her brain.
Leaning in close, she nuzzled his neck before speaking quietly to him. “You’re making me all loopy with that. Stop.”
His grin in response told her he knew exactly what he was doing.
Her phone rang. Normally she’d have ignored it, but as she saw her uncle’s number on the screen, she had a feeling, a very strong feeling, she should answer.
“‘Scuse me.” She got up and found a reasonably quiet corner to answer.
Max felt it through their bond, saw the sag in her spine and was at her side in moments.
“What is it?”
“That was my uncle. My ex contacted him, fished for details about me. He knows I’m here in Boston.”
His cat surged to the fore and she noted it, placing her palms on his chest. “Shh. It’s okay. I have you. I have several giant shifter males all quite happy to hurt anyone on my behalf. I’m nervous, but not in the same way I would have been even six months ago.” Right before he’d met her and his entire world had upended and changed for the better.
“Let’s head home anyway. We can talk to Gibson and Jack about this newest development.” And he could let his guard down a little at home surrounded by those he trusted implicitly.
* * *
“Stop. Stop the car!”
Max jerked the car to a halt with a squeal of tires barely in time to stop his foolhardy wife from falling out the door she attempted to fling open, even as the car still moved.
“What the fuck.” He slammed the locks on. “Damn it, Kendra, you’re going to get killed.”
“Turn! Turn here. Now, now!”
The cars that had been following screeched to make the turn he did. His phone began to ring and he thrust it at Kendra. “You have to tell them whatever you’re doing.”
“Just follow us. I feel him. At the end of the thread I connected to him.” She disconnected and if he hadn’t been trying not to kill them both, he’d have laughed at the expression he knew had to be on Gibson’s face.
Her head fell back against the seat and he began to slow. Her hand reached out, grabbing his wrist and digging in. “He’s out there. Don’t stop until I say. Keep heading...get on...get on 93, nor
th, yes, north. Go, Max!”
He barely made the on-ramp, but he sped north on her orders. His cell rang again and this time, he flipped on the stereo to answer it that way. “De La Vega.”
“Mind telling me where we’re going?” Galen’s voice sounded. Kendra had her eyes closed, lines of concentration on her face so he didn’t want to disturb that.
“She’s taking us to her father, I think. Call Rosemary and let her know what’s going on. Get Gibson on it too. You may as well stay on the line and listen so you know where we’re going.”
Renee spoke in the background, making the calls and Max smiled for a moment. The sisters worked together.
“Off!” She sat bolt-upright, pointing at an off-ramp.
He bit off an annoyed comment and took the ramp, keeping it slow, listening to her and letting her lead.
They hit dead ends a few times, and he’d have to stop and let her listen to whatever inner map she had until they could find a way around it.
It was incredible that the two cars following had kept with them the whole time. Gibson would never let him hear the end of this.
She opened her door, having used her magick to override the locks he’d thrown back near his parents’ house. At first she just stood there, listening, cocking her head. And then she was off like a shot, down a long block.
Cursing a blue streak, he managed to get the jag parked, grab the keys and follow, only barely resisting his urge to yell her name.
Up ahead of him, she ran, graceful and full of fury. Her legs were long as she ate up the pavement but his were longer, he’d catch up to her soon enough. Gibson was craftier as he reached Kendra first, obviously having taken a shortcut through a nearby alley.
Her rage pulsated not only through their bond, but in the air all around her. Her sorrow and confusion too. She tried to maintain a hard-assed stance, but he knew this had to hurt her. How could it not? His cat clawed his insides, trying to get to her to fix whatever was wrong.
Kendra saw them, standing not too far away. She wondered at Max’s ability to not scream her name as she’d taken off, but thank goodness he’d kept quiet so she could get the drop on them.
She’d spooled up her power as she ran, letting her cat keep focus on her quarry as she got her magick ready to go. When she skidded to a halt, she sent out a blast of energy strong enough to knock her father on his ass.
Susan turned, seeing her and sneering. She sent a blast Kendra’s way, but now an entire jamboree of jaguars lived in her, there was water nearby, trees, grass, apartment buildings and houses. So much energy, she drew a small wisp of it, pulled it into herself and rebounded that blast back at Susan.
Because the magic Susan had tossed was so vile and toxic, it stuck to the other woman like shit. Apt.
But she wasn’t totally out. Susan hit her again twice more and her father aided that bitch, amping her power up.
Dimly in the back of her mind she felt Max through their bond. Max barreling down the block getting closer and closer.
It burned, blacking her vision out for a long moment before she grabbed more of the energy around her and brought it into herself. She allowed herself to tap into her cats, just a small bit and blasted back at them both so hard, Susan ended up with her husband, on her ass, on the ground.
The pounding of Max’s approach vibrated through her shoes, up her legs. The wash of his energy, of his fury boiled over, shoving everything from his way. He was a bad-ass freight train of pissed-off protective alpha male.
“Hey, guess what? I got married. That sound is my husband coming.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” her father asked, his voice thready and freaked. He understood who she was. There was no way around it. She knew how much she looked like her mother and Renee.
That he could be so nasty, even after what he’d done, made her crazy. It felt as if her cat actually paced inside her body. “What, no tearful reunion? I might have to go to therapy now.”
He tried to move, but found himself stuck to the spot. She felt him try to draw on her and shocked him, slamming him out so violently he stepped back, holding the hand he’d been working the spell with. She’d pay for that later. A nosebleed had started, but the nice thing about this shifter business was that it stopped nearly immediately.
She stood back as the blur moved to the side, grabbing her father by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the side of a nearby car, setting off the alarm.
“I got that,” Renee said quietly as they arrived, using her energy to short the alarm out.
Kendra realized how exposed and in the open they were. But Max was barely holding on to his human skin as his protective instincts raged within him. She’d need Gibson’s help to get the situation under control.
“Let’s get this away from the noise,” Gibson said carefully to Max, staying in Max’s line of sight, urging calm. His hands were loose and at his sides, his gaze averted from Max’s eyes, accepting the other man’s dominance.
Max seemed to relax a tiny bit as Jack spoke up from just to the side where he’d been waiting with Renee. “We’re out here in the street where anyone can see.”
“Over here.” Rosemary approached with Mary, they stood at the entrance to a nearby park.
“You made it fast,” Max murmured to them as they hustled Andrew and Susan over, cats and wolves fanning out to set a perimeter.
“Mary sat up at dinner and told me to get in the car. We were driving to your place when we got the call. Renee talked us here.” Rosemary shrugged before turning her gaze back to where Susan and her father were. “You are to move carefully to that park and sit on the bench you’re told to. If you don’t, I’ll drain you until you can’t move on your own.”
Kendra had never seen her aunt so vicious, but it was clear she meant it and they both seemed to understand she was serious, even if Susan had a look on her face so obnoxious, Kendra wanted to slap it off.
“Yes, let’s!” She leaned in close as they walked, keeping an eye on them. Max growled, putting himself back between them again.
Mary did something and the sounds around them dampened. That was so cool, Kendra planned to ask her about it later. “This will give us some privacy for a time.”
For now she had other concerns. She motioned to Max, who had his arm around her waist, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he looked toward Susan and her dad. “Now here’s the thing. He’s a protective alpha jaguar shifter. They don’t come in other flavors. And he’s really mad. At you. Which, well, I guess that means it sucks to be you.”
Mary flanked the bench on one side, Rosemary on the other. “We’ve got it handled for now.”
They needed to move this along or get inside. The nearest safe place was fifteen miles behind them, though, so it was time to improvise.
“Now back to me for a moment, I’m a witch too. Surprise! But you knew that, didn’t you, you naughty boy. So you should also know that if you try to use any magic on anyone here I’ll suck you dry and not feel a thing. If not me, Mary will, or even Aunt Rosemary. I’m sure she’s got a lot of anger with you over that murder thing. You know the thing, where you and your bitch killed our mother. Oh that was quite out of bounds. So you need to understand this.” She focused on Susan, who was far more powerful than her father. “You’re some piece of work, aren’t you? I should throw you to these very unhappy boys to deal with.”
It was Galen who growled that time, and satisfaction bloomed through her belly at the way Susan flinched.
“So to wrap up, these people are my family. I will kill you to save them. And I can. I’ve learned a bunch of nifty new spellcraft. It would be self-defense. So keep your shit together, don’t cause a scene and you might just end up walking away alive at the end.”
“Would it be easier to take care of this piece of shit if I make him b
leed?” Max’s voice would have scared the hell out of her if she hadn’t known him.
“Thank you, baby, but I think we’re okay for now.” If blood were spilled, it could be a lot harder to keep Max and the other shifters calm.
Max leaned down, getting right in her father’s face. “You have harmed my woman and my sister. You seek to harm them still. Why should you be allowed to live?”
“That’s a good question,” Jack added.
“Not that I’m opposed to killing him or anything. But how about we get some answers first? Like say what they’re doing here? Where his compatriots are? Who these contacts that have been routinely attacking our women are? Those little details.” Gibson slowly, making sure Max saw it and didn’t react negatively, put himself in between the two men, taking over.
Max reluctantly moved back, shifting to stand in between Kendra and her father.
“I need to see him,” she murmured, sliding her hand up and down his arm. She’d never seen him so close to the edge. That such a controlled man would be on the verge of shifting because of a perceived threat to his mate. No one had ever reacted to protect her the way he did.
“He wants to hurt you.”
She nodded. “He does. But he can’t right here.”
He brushed his lips against hers. “I’m not going to let him hurt you again.”
She nodded again. “I know. Thank you, Max.”
He seemed to be satisfied with that. Sort of. “If he tries anything, Gibson, anything at all, break his fuckin’ neck. Not enough to kill, just, you know, paralyze him. He can still talk with a broken spine.”
Kendra took Renee’s hand and they cautiously moved closer, far more concerned about the enraged and protective males than with their father.
She bent, taking her shoes off, immediately getting a boost to her energy. The cold woke her up, sharpened her focus. “That’s better. So you know, they’re not joking about the broken-neck thing. So let’s just quit any ideas of trying to get away without giving us answers. If we can do this right, you might live. Maybe.”
Renee waved at Andrew. “Hi there, Dad. I wish I could say it was nice to see you. But since you murdered Mom and have been cooperating with people who tried to kill me, I have to say I’m feeling far less fond of you these days.”