A Jaguars Touch

by Lacey Thorn

  “I’m sorry,” Vic said.

  Neither Finn nor Murphy had ever really talked about the time before they joined the Marines. She knew they had dual citizenship with Ireland and the U. S. but had never figured it was any of her business.

  “Murphy was supposed to be sent alone. Punishment for something that was never his fault. But I couldn’t let him. I knew he needed me.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

  “Because we’re a lot alike,” he said, glancing down at her once more. “I saw how family could fail you, how everything you loved in the world could be snatched away just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I joke with Murphy. I watch his back. But I shut him out just as much as I do everyone else when it comes to feelings and shit. It’s easy to be the loneliest man in the room when you hide it behind a quick wit and charm.”

  “Finn,” she said, but he placed his finger over her lips, silencing anything she might have said.

  “Don’t let fear build walls you can’t knock down,” he warned her.

  “I’m not afraid of anything,” Vic replied, turning back around and setting her coffee on the counter untouched.

  “We’re all afraid of something,” he said quietly.

  She took a minute to gather her thoughts, figure out how to respond, but when she rotated to face him again, he was gone.

  “What the hell,” she muttered to herself.

  What was going on with Finn? That conversation had come out of nowhere. How could the scent of Gideon on her bring about a heart-to-heart with Finn? It was eye opening to realize that in all the years she’d known the group, she knew very little about them outside of being soldiers. What she did know, she’d learned since coming here. They’d always been a unit, but since everything that had happened recently, since Abby really, they’d become more. They’d become family, one completely different from what she’d known.

  Should she go after Finn? Talk to Murphy? Or let it go? She finally decided to shake it off for now. Everyone was on edge lately, and it was starting to take a toll. The trip to Denver, the move, the knowledge that hunters were closing in on where they were. Any one of those things would be stressful, but with them occurring at the same time, it was overwhelming.

  She headed down to Tah’s office and was surprised when she caught him alone. He said nothing as she entered, and she felt guilty for interrupting him. From what she saw, he very rarely had time alone any more. With how much she valued her private moments, she hated disrupting his.

  He inhaled and shook his head. “You smell of Gideon.”

  “Yeah. Who knew you couldn’t wash shifter off?” she joked with a shrug.

  “Did he mate you?”

  “I already told you, I’m not his mate,” Vic answered.

  Tah didn’t say anything, just watched her with a hooded gaze that made her feel as if he were seeing inside her, deep into places she tried to hide—even from herself.

  “We need to move, Tah,” she said. “This waiting and planning is frying us. We need to do something already.”

  “I’m actually calling a council meeting,” Tah said. “We’ve planned enough.”

  “When?”

  “Now,” Tah replied. “I figured Reno sent you but apparently you just have great timing. Reno went to grab Logan and Murphy. He was also planning to look for you. Abby went to get the Professor. I had her ask Gideon to join us, as well.”

  “Why? He’s not part of the council. Hell, he’s not even part of the pride,” Vic said. She wasn’t sure she could keep her hands off him. Last night should have sated her. Instead, it only made her want him more. And after the chat with Finn earlier, she wasn’t on her game at the moment.

  “Exactly,” Gideon agreed, surprising her as he walked in with the Professor and Abby behind him.

  Abby held a sleeping Regan in her arms.

  “I’m not a part of your pride,” Gideon finished.

  She wasn’t sure if the your was directed at her or Tah. If there was hurt in Gideon’s eyes at what he’d overheard her say, she couldn’t be certain. He merely glanced at her then dismissed her, and she had no one to blame but herself.

  “Abby said you’ve been helping out down in the labs. I have questions I think only you will be able to answer,” Tah said.

  “I’ll tell you what I can,” Gideon said and moved across the room, placing himself as far from Vic as he could get.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, pissed. At herself. At him. At every fucking thing. She didn’t feel shit. She called it like it was and never pulled punches. So why did she wish she’d kept her mouth shut or at least that Gideon hadn’t heard her?

  Reno walked in, followed by Logan and Murphy.

  “I see you found her,” Reno said.

  “I headed in on my own,” Vic said.

  Reno inhaled. “Another problem?” he asked softly.

  Jesus! “No,” Vic gritted out.

  Tah shook his head at Reno. “Let’s take a seat,” he said, indicating the informal seating area.

  Murphy patted her shoulder as he passed. His lack of comment made her suspect he’d already spoken with Finn. The Professor looked frazzled, as if he’d been pulled unwillingly upstairs to join them. Abby smiled softly at her. That’s when she realized they were all giving her a wide berth, as if she were a fucking delicate flower. Her gaze skirted over to where her man leaned against the wall.

  Her man? Where the fuck had that thought come from? Sex didn’t make her stupid. Ever. And it sure as hell didn’t fuck with her head. She needed to gain some goddamned control over herself.

  “Vic?” Tah asked, and she realized they were all settled, waiting for her to join them.

  She forced her feet to move, and the closer to Gideon she walked, the higher her temper flared. She’d ignore him. Pretend he wasn’t fucking there just as he was doing with her. That was the plan at least. Then she smelled him, and it made her mouth fucking water for a taste of him. That’s when she decided to say screw it. Everyone in the room knew they’d had sex. You couldn’t hide that shit from these guys. It did no good to act otherwise. She walked right up to the motherfucker, reached up and used his hair to jerk his head down to her.

  “Victoria,” Gideon said as she claimed his attention.

  All her focus was on Gideon. His eyes were that gorgeous neon green again when she swore she’d seen blue when he’d first walked in the room and briefly met her gaze.

  “Gideon,” she said as she planted herself in front of him. “Are we good?” she whispered though she knew most of those in the room would be able to hear her anyway. Private conversations were a rare commodity when you lived with a group of shifters.

  Gideon angled his head, despite her tight grip on his hair, and gave her a strange look.

  “Are we?” she asked again.

  He nodded, questions in his gaze, which she chose to ignore.

  She nipped his bottom lip—couldn’t resist the desire to taste him, however briefly. Then she took a step back and turned to face the rest of them, widening her stance and crossing her arms over her chest. She glared as she placed herself between Gideon and the rest of the room.

  “I know you all smell him on me, and yes, we had sex,” she stated.

  “Shit,” Tah grunted as the rest of the men glared.

  Vic knew it wasn’t directed at her, but those glares were exactly why she was speaking up.

  “I started this,” she said. “My choice. I expect you all to respect it and leave him the hell alone.”

  She felt Gideon’s hands on her hips then she was lifted out of the way.

  “I don’t need anyone to stand in front of me,” he stated gruffly.

  “And I just want to make it clear that I’m the only one with a say in who I sleep with,” she stated.

  He quirked a brow at her, and she knew he was implying her partner might have a say in that, as well. He was right, but that wasn’t the point. She ignored him again and glanced back at
the room, meeting each of their gazes and holding them briefly before moving on to the next.

  “Are we clear?” she demanded and wasn’t satisfied until they all nodded.

  “And I thought you were going to kick his ass,” Logan joked.

  Gideon glanced her way again and gave her another questioning look filled with disbelief. She wasn’t sure if he doubted the thought or her ability. Either way, it was neither the time nor the place to have that chat.

  “Despite this little conversation, Vic’s sex life wasn’t part of the agenda,” Tah said when the room remained silent. “So let’s move on.”

  Logan coughed, but Vic knew it was only to hide a laugh. She was starting to feel embarrassed, like maybe she’d overreacted, when Gideon reached over and laced his fingers with hers. She did her best to relax and focus on Tah.

  “Abby and I will head for Denver in two days. We’ll take Logan and Clara with us along with Zane and Diane. We won’t be coming back here,” Tah said. “Instead, we’ll head straight to Riverton, Oklahoma. Our contact there is a man named Daniel. Zane’s Uncle Orsai vouched for Daniel.”

  “Where is Orsai?” Vic asked. “I haven’t seen him.”

  “Orsai left last evening,” the Professor said. “He said he was needed elsewhere, but he would visit us in Oklahoma.”

  “What do we know about Riverton?” Murphy asked. “And this Daniel.”

  “I’ve done as much digging as I can from here,” Abby said. “He’s the sheriff in Riverton, a small town named because of where it butts up against the Red River. The place we’re heading is a ranch just outside town. From what I’ve been told, it’s huge. The main house sits on over thirty acres and there are several other homes on the property, as well.”

  “Space so we’re not smelling all the sex we’re not having,” Murphy muttered. “Sign me up.”

  “Reno and Amia will leave a few days after we do. Professor, you’ll be traveling with them along with Lydia,” Tah said, ignoring Murphy.

  “How soon is that? I have more to do. I should be the last to leave,” the Professor argued.

  “No can do,” Reno said. “You’re with us, and you’ll be ready on time.”

  The Professor grumbled until Abby reached over and patted his knee with her free hand.

  “Vic,” Tah continued. “You, Kenzie and Holt will take Ariel with you.”

  Vic nodded. It didn’t seem like a good time to let him know Kenzie and Holt would be traveling separately. That meant it would just be her and Ariel, who she still didn’t trust. Great combination. They might kill each other along the way.

  “Murphy and Finn will leave last with Griffin. They’ll be transporting Dillon,” Tah said.

  “I still say we should just snap the bastard’s neck and be done with it,” Murphy said.

  Vic felt Gideon tense beside her at the mention of Dillon, and she squeezed his hand with hers.

  “He has answers, and he will give them to us,” Tah said. “Until he does, Dillon will remain very much alive.” He looked over at Gideon. “And you’re more than welcome to come along.”

  “We could use a man with your skills in the lab,” Abby added.

  Gideon shook his head. “I’ll be moving on as soon as you do.”

  Vic did her best to ignore the looks that came her way. She knew Gideon was leaving. His words weren’t a surprise. They were having sex, not a relationship. Hell, she’d only spent one night with him. One night shouldn’t be fucking with her head. She loosened her grip on his hand and barely contained her surprise when he squeezed her hand this time. She refused to glance his way, though. She couldn’t trust herself not to giveaway how much she didn’t want to be reminded of him leaving.

  “Gideon is the reason we know more, now,” the Professor stated. “He’s rewritten several of our testing codes and we’re pulling out information we really need instead of trying to ascertain what we need from the more ambiguous tests we were running.”

  “That will only work for so long,” Gideon warned.

  “What do you mean?” Abby asked.

  “You have two people working in your lab, running tests. You have no idea what you’re up against. The hunters you’re facing? Despite what you might have seen at the Blane Farms I heard you visited, hunters are a very well-organized machine with many sites specifically designated for research,” Gideon said.

  “Tell us,” Tah ordered.

  “I understand you know a bit about where the feral cat fever virus Dillon had access to came from,” Gideon said.

  “Clara’s uncle brought it back with him,” Logan answered.

  Gideon nodded. “Thomas was attacked and captured. They tortured him for days. Strategically placed cuts, puncture wounds, beatings. You name it. All to see how long it took to heal. To see what he couldn’t heal from.”

  “Bastards,” Murphy muttered.

  “I’ve heard of a time when they severed limbs just to see if they’d grow back,” Gideon added.

  “Jesus Christ,” Reno muttered.

  “Trust me when I say the hunters with guns who merely want to kill us are the least we should worry about,” Gideon informed them.

  “Thomas wasn’t the only one captured,” Abby said softly.

  Vic jerked her head to look at Gideon and knew Abby was right by the way he stood, the way he held his head.

  “Those labs are hell on Earth,” Gideon said and finally tugged his hand free.

  Vic watched him along with everyone else as he began pacing around the room.

  “I was there when Thomas was captured and brought in,” Gideon said. “They kept us locked in cages when we weren’t being used for testing.”

  “Cages?” Abby whispered.

  “We’re animals to them. Not human,” Gideon stated.

  “What tests did they run?” Tah asked.

  Gideon shook his head. “Things that would give you nightmares. Things no man or animal should ever be submitted to. Feral fever is only one of their pet projects. They have an entire department devoted to discovering ways to biologically fuck with us.”

  “Such as?” the Professor asked.

  Gideon stopped walking and turned to face Vic. His gaze locked with hers, as if he needed the connection to keep talking. She wanted to go to him, to cross and wrap him in her arms, but her feet were rooted to the ground.

  “For entertainment, they would inject us with different things and make us fight one another. Hallucinogens they were working on, adrenaline boosters, variations of feral fever—anything they wanted to test. Then they’d sit back and watch.”

  “Until?” Vic asked, knowing there was more.

  His gaze met hers. “Until one of us won.”

  Chapter Six

  Gideon scanned the room, taking in the faces of those around him. What would they think of him if they knew the whole truth? Thomas had been so afraid shifters would blame him for the things he’d been forced to watch and even participate in. But Gideon was tired of pretending to be someone he wasn’t.

  “Oh, Gideon,” Abby said. “How long were you there?”

  Horror—that was what he saw. And concern. There was no hate, not with these people. And knowing that made him wonder if he might be able to tell them everything. Maybe began to heal parts of him that had been broken for a long time.

  “Two years,” he said.

  “How did they get you?” the Professor asked him.

  “I was young, cocky and arrogant. I walked right into a trap and didn’t even realize it until I woke up in a cage. They brought in a dozen more of us over the next couple days. And that was when the fun began.”

  “There’s no shame in surviving,” Reno said, and it was as if the other man knew the things Gideon had been forced to do, the lives he’d ended.

  “You left with Thomas?” Logan asked.

  Gideon nodded. “They were planning to make us fight one another. They didn’t know I’d grown up in the same area as Thomas—that I knew him. They injected Thomas with
fever, a new strain they’d been working on. Within minutes, he’d killed the three men with him and ripped my cage open to free me, as well.” He didn’t want to remember that time in his life. There were ghosts from then that still haunted him—bloodstains on his hands he’d never be able to wash off. He shoved the past back down. “We escaped and made it home.” Not exactly the story Thomas had told his family, but Gideon was telling the truth. It was more than time for it.

  “When did Thomas get the vials of fever?” the Professor asked.

  “Later, when he was captured again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t by the right group of hunters. So all he was able to get was the original strain of feral cat fever,” Gideon admitted.

  “Are you saying Thomas allowed himself to be captured?” Logan asked, and Gideon could see the other man was pissed.

  He understood why. Logan was Clara’s mate, and though the things Gideon, Thomas and Michael had done were needed, Clara had been hurt by them.

  “Easy,” Reno said and put his hand on Logan’s shoulder.

  The gesture reminded Gideon so much of Thomas and Michael. He could easily see himself and his best friends in Tah, Reno and Logan. Logan was so much like Clara’s father Michael that Gideon never questioned their mating. He wondered if she realized it, or if she’d lost Michael too soon to really know the man her father was. Reno was more like him while Tah was an unjaded version of Thomas. God, he hoped they made better choices than Gideon and his friends had.

  “I’m saying we did what we needed to,” Gideon finally said.

  “We? You and Thomas?” Abby asked, but Gideon looked away.

  “Michael was part of this, too, wasn’t he?” Logan demanded, surging to his feet. “So Clara lost her father, and her uncle’s missing? For what? Some vials?”

  “Clara’s lost a lot less than most,” Gideon all but roared. “Entire families have been wiped out.”

  “Ease up,” Tah ordered, and though his voice was leashed, Gideon could hear the authority in it. It gave him hope for the future.

  “You and Thomas were working with the fever, weren’t you?” the Professor interrupted, cutting through the tension with his question. “Dillon stole it, but he didn’t create it.”