A Jaguars Touch

by Lacey Thorn

  “He didn’t hurt me. He made me uncomfortable, so I avoided him.”

  “Smart idea,” Gideon said.

  She shrugged. “I’m going to Oklahoma,” she blurted. “I’m going to ride with Finn and Murphy.”

  “So I heard,” Gideon said. “Have a safe trip.”

  “Will I see you there?”

  “Vic and I have decided to go, yes,” Gideon said.

  “Before or after you hunt for Thomas?”

  “Before,” he said.

  “Good,” Ariel stated, and it humbled him to see how relieved she was. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Gideon knew Vic, Murphy and the Professor were right. Ariel would have a better chance of healing with this group. She already seemed livelier than he’s seen her in a very long time. It seemed Finn really was good for her.

  “Looks like I got here before the fun begins,” Vic said, coming up to join them.

  “I was just getting ready to head over,” Gideon said. “Where does Murphy normally talk to him?”

  “There’s a room just down the hall. It’s one of the larger storage rooms. Dillon shifts in the smaller room. He tried it with Murphy once, but Murphy picked him up by the scruff of his scrawny little bobcat neck and slammed him into the wall,” Vic said. “He hasn’t pulled anything like that since then.”

  “His smaller size can be an asset. It gives him greater maneuverability in some situations,” Gideon warned. “Keep that in mind.”

  “I’ll do that,” Vic promised. “Let’s go talk to him.”

  “Can I come?” Ariel asked.

  Gideon shook his head. “I think you better sit this one out. But I’ll let you know if he says anything.”

  “I’ll hang around down here in case you decide you do need me,” Ariel said, stance wide as if daring him to say differently.

  “Sounds good,” he said.

  He and Vic headed down the hall toward the room Dillon was locked in. Vic pointed to the two bolts on the door. Gideon reached for the top one while she reached for the other. As soon as they pulled them, something slammed against the door, or someone. Gideon moved in front, forcing Vic to step aside. He let out a vicious roar and the thumping stopped. One more and nothing but silence greeted them. Gideon opened the door and met Dillon’s glance. The other man sat in the corner of the room, back to the wall.

  “Well, if it isn’t Thomas’s errand boy and shadow,” Dillon said. “Fancy meeting you here, Gideon.”

  “Dillon,” Gideon responded.

  “To what do I owe the honors?” Dillon sneered. “Don’t tell me you came searching for me and Lydia instead of your precious Thomas?”

  Vic brought a chair over and set it behind Gideon.

  He pulled it forward and sat right in the doorway, blocking Dillon in the room. “What is it about Thomas you don’t like?”

  “What makes you think I didn’t like him?” Dillon countered.

  Gideon paused for a moment. Didn’t? Why was Dillon using the past tense? Had the younger man done something to Thomas? The only way to find out was to keep talking and hope Dillon was ready to confess.

  “I know Thomas hurt you,” Gideon said. “He’s not always a nice guy.”

  Dillon looked shocked. He blinked then narrowed his eyes at Gideon. “You don’t know shit. You were his little lap dog. Go do this. Go do that. That’s all he said to you, and off you went. You never gave a fuck about anyone else.”

  “When did you start messing with the vials of fever?” Gideon asked.

  “You know nothing,” Dillon said again, giving him a funny look.

  Gideon thought for a minute and took a chance, praying his gut was wrong.

  “I guess the more accurate question would be, when did Thomas pull you into his schemes? I know he was the one who wanted you to try one of the formulas on Lydia.”

  Gideon saw Dillon’s eyes widen and felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Vic was right. Thomas was a bastard.

  “We needed a trial subject. Lydia was conveniently there,” Dillon finally said with a shrug.

  “Thomas said you were eager, a good lackey to have around,” Gideon told the other man, poking at Dillon’s ego.

  “I wasn’t a damn lackey!” he yelled.

  Gideon shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

  “Lydia deserved better than that,” Gideon finally said. “She was a good person.” And the guilt was really eating him up.

  “She was a Blane,” Dillon stated, and Gideon could hear those words coming out of Thomas’s mouth. “She should have stayed and died with Michael. Thomas would have forced her to leave if not for poor little orphan Clara latching onto her. Then every time Lydia turned around, it was all about how we should go rescue Amia. We needed to save Amia. Blah, blah, blah. I think Thomas just wanted to shut Lydia up at first. But she served her purpose in the end.”

  A memory surfaced, one of Thomas yelling at Dillon, berating him for something. Gideon hadn’t paid much attention at the time. He wished he had, now.

  “Things would have been fine if you’d just done what you were supposed to,” Gideon goaded, recalling Thomas saying those words to Dillon.

  “I did everything he said. Everything. It’s not my fault he was constantly changing his mind. Unstable, that’s what he was. Jesus, he used to talk to Michael like he was in the room with him. Gave me the fucking creeps. Thomas would apologize to him—say he had no choice. Then he’d yell and tell Michael he should have quit asking questions.” Dillon gave that evil smile again. “That must be why you’re still alive. Never questioned anything did you. Just obeyed like a good little boy.”

  “Cut the shit.” Gideon growled, leaning forward. He was pissed. Was Dillon trying to imply Thomas had knowingly sent Michael to his death? “We know what happened. I was able to give Lydia something before she died.”

  “What did you give her?” Dillon wanted to know.

  “You should be asking what she said,” Gideon countered. “She told us. About you, Thomas, the betrayal. She told us everything.”

  “I had to do it,” Dillon screamed, surging to his feet and prowling the tiny room. His body shook, and Gideon could feel the waves of anxiety flowing from him.

  Gideon started to say something, but he was treading on really thin ice, and he knew it. He had no idea what Dillon felt he’d needed to do. Gideon was almost afraid to find out. The more he heard, the more Thomas warped from someone he’d called a friend into a monster he’d failed to realize was there. Instead, he just shook his head back and forth and waited to see if Dillon would continue.

  “He was betraying us all,” Dillon yelled. “You thought he was so perfect. Every person he saved he ended up using in some way. You, Lydia, me, Ariel. He had plans for all of us. Someone had to step up.”

  “And you decided to play the hero?” Gideon let his disbelief through loud and clear.

  “You have no idea the things Thomas was really capable of, the lengths he’d go to for something he wanted. He was even willing to sacrifice Clara, his own fucking niece,” Dillon stated.

  “I know,” Gideon said sadly. “He sent her in to be slaughtered, just like he did her father.”

  Dillon nodded, and Gideon felt nauseous.

  “Where did he go?” Gideon asked. “Before I left with Griffin and Ariel. Where did Thomas go?”

  Dillon sat again. He leaned his elbows on his knees and dropped his head between them. “I’m so tired,” he said. “I kept hoping the red-haired Neanderthal would kill me. Just snap my neck and kill me. So I stayed quiet, hoping to make him angry enough. But he wouldn’t.”

  “Why would you want to die?” Gideon asked.

  “I didn’t know what to expect when we got here. I figured I’d give a few people the virus then escape in the chaos. I never figured on this.” His gaze skimmed the walls of the room, and Gideon realized the limited space was taking a toll on Dillon. “It’s like a cage.”

  “One of your own making,” Gideon challenged.

>   “Think back to the night when everything changed for Thomas,” Dillon said softly, his voice barely a whisper.

  “When his wife and child were killed,” Gideon stated.

  “Thomas lived a dangerous life. It was only a matter of time before hunters came after him. They wanted him. Do you really think they’d pass up a chance to take something they could use against him?” Dillon goaded.

  Gideon shook his head. “I was there. I saw his wife, the baby ripped from her womb. It’s a horror I’ll never forget.”

  “A baby,” Dillon whispered, then looked up with tired eyes. “You saw a baby.”

  Gideon stood then, shaking his head as he shoved away the chair. He could see Stella lying there surrounded in blood, sightless eyes wide open. And the sick bastards had placed the baby in her arms. God, the things they’d done to that tiny child still haunted Gideon. But now? Was it possible Thomas’s child was out there somewhere? Alive?

  “I know Clara came down here to talk to you. Why didn’t you tell her any of this?” Gideon demanded.

  “I’m a bastard, but even I’m not that cruel. She never did anything to me.”

  “So why tell me, Dillon? Why? You’ve refused to say anything. Now, I’m here, and you start spilling like a faucet. Why? Or is this all some elaborate lie you’ve cooked up? For what? What do you get from saying all this?” Gideon roared the words.

  “I’m done talking,” Dillon stated in a low, venomous tone. “Kill me or leave me the fuck alone.”

  “You think this is a game? Tell me where he is!”

  Dillion smiled. “He thought I was stupid, weak, but I was the only who figured out what he was doing. And I was the one who stopped him.”

  “You killed Lydia just as sure as you put a gun to her head. You drugged Clara’s mate and one of the shifter’s in this pride. Anything you did was for your own selfish reasons, so don’t try to convince me otherwise,” Gideon dared him.

  “Do you even know what Thomas had planned? A trade, Gideon. He was going to make a trade with the hunters to get his kid back, and I wasn’t going to wait around to see who he was going to offer that they’d take. Thomas was a cold-hearted bastard, and he deserved what he got. He deserved it.”

  “What did he deserve?” Gideon asked.

  “I would have suggested he trade Ariel to them. She’s so damaged it wouldn’t matter what the hunters wanted with her. They could torture her or make her a toy. I hear some hunters like toys.”

  “That’s enough,” Gideon roared.

  “Did you fuck her, too?” Dillon asked. “Or was she too dirty for you? Thomas told me they messed her up pretty badly.”

  Gideon roared, but something shoved past him in a flash of orange, knocking him out of the way. His first instinct was to move in front of his mate despite the blood bath that was taking place in front of him. Ariel had shifted into her tigress form, and there was no way Gideon or any of them would be able to stop her from the blood lust she was on. And after Dillon’s words, no one would blame Ariel.

  She was on the other man in an instant, and though he managed to shift, his bobcat was no match for the large Bengal tigress he faced. Ariel tore him to shreds. In minutes, Dillon was gone and only the tigress remained, standing there heaving, paws and muzzle covered in red.

  “Ariel,” Gideon called out to her.

  The cat turned toward him and let out a loud roar.

  “It’s okay,” Gideon said. “He was wrong. He was so wrong. You know that. We all know that.”

  Murphy and Finn were there, watching, but neither said a word. Gideon got the impression both of them had been ready to attack Dillon themselves. Gideon couldn’t say anything as he’d been close to the same. Vic’s chest heaved against his back.

  “Bastard,” she shouted. “He deserved that. Damaged my ass. Who’s the one damaged now, you little fucker?”

  The tigress looked at Vic and growled as if in agreement with his mate. There was such pain in the large amber eyes, and Gideon prayed this wasn’t a setback Ariel wouldn’t be able to recover from. She’d suffered enough.

  “What the hell’s going on down here?” Reno shouted, running down and stopping in the doorway. “Jesus,” he muttered, taking in the carnage.

  “She did what she had to do,” Vic said, skirting around Gideon to stand between the tigress and Reno, as if she would protect Ariel’s beast. “The asshole got what he deserved. If she hadn’t killed him, I would have.”

  “Aye,” Murphy agreed.

  Finn nodded.

  “Well, shit,” Reno said, but he nodded at Ariel. “I need one of you to fill me in on what’s going on before I let Tah know.”

  “Maybe we should wait and tell him when we see him in Oklahoma,” Finn suggested.

  Murphy and Reno both snorted.

  Gideon turned to Ariel. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  Finn was the one who came forward. He took off his shirt and dropped it on the floor in front of where the cat sat. Then he turned and folded his arms over his chest.

  “Turn around,” he ordered and they all complied.

  A few minutes later, Ariel cleared her throat. When she stepped forward she went to Vic. Without question, Gideon’s mate put her arm around Ariel’s shoulders.

  “We’re heading up. Ariel needs a shower and maybe some hot tea,” Vic said.

  “Laced with a goodly dose of whiskey,” Finn added. He stepped forward but didn’t touch Ariel. “You’re a fierce fighter. I’d trust you to have my back anytime.”

  “Same goes,” Murphy agreed.

  Ariel nodded and let Vic lead her away. Gideon hoped Dillon’s words didn’t inflict too much damage on the woman. She’d been through enough. They stopped a few paces away and Ariel turned, meeting his gaze.

  “He’s dead,” she said. “Thomas is dead.”

  Gideon nodded.

  “Wait,” Reno said. “Dillon talked to you? He told you that?”

  “No, he told us a bunch of other things that I’m not a hundred percent sure of,” Gideon said.

  “Then what makes you think Thomas is dead?” Reno asked.

  “Because every time he spoke of Thomas, it was in the past tense,” Ariel answered.

  Gideon sighed. “You all heard what he said, too? I didn’t imagine that?”

  Murph, Finn, Vic and Ariel all nodded. .

  “Clara could have a cousin out there somewhere,” Vic said.

  “What?” Reno asked.

  “She’ll be wanting us to find that one and bring ‘em home,” Murphy said.

  “We have no clue who we’d even be looking for. If they do exist outside of Dillon’s mind,” Gideon muttered. “I can’t believe… I was there. Jesus, I was there and had no clue.”

  “Clara will be just as devastated,” Vic said. “Even though she suspected Thomas might be capable of stuff. Nothing will prepare her for some of what Dillon suggested.”

  Gideon said. “I think the only thing we can be sure of right now is that Thomas is dead. Everything else Dillon said could just be smoke and mirrors.”

  “Then why would we believe Thomas is dead?” Reno asked.

  “Because it’s the only thing Dillon didn’t come right out and tell Gideon,” Finn said.

  “Exactly,” Gideon agreed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Vic and Gideon spent the whole morning packing and helping load boxes. Reno, Amia, the Professor and Griffin would be heading out at first light the next day. That would leave only Finn, Murphy, Ariel, Vic and Gideon to take care of the rest. Vic knew Murphy was planning to blow the cabin once they were all clear.

  Gideon went into town with Finn and Murphy after lunch to get the last moving truck and when they came back, Gideon was driving a big black SUV.

  “Where’d you get the wheels?” Vic asked.

  “This one’s mine. It’s what Griffin, Ariel and I drove here,” Gideon said. “I left it hidden when we first got here. Wasn’t exactly sure where we were headed, but I coul
dn’t drive it through the woods. So we parked and came in on foot.”

  “So I guess we’ll be traveling in this,” Vic said and Gideon nodded.

  “That okay with you?” he asked.

  “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care,” she said, peering into it. “Do I get to drive?”

  He laughed. “We’ll have to take shifts. It’ll be a long trip.”

  “It’s got all the bells and whistles,” she sighed. “This is going to be fun.”

  “You’re easy to please,” he said. “Head back to the house with me?” He held out his hand toward her, and she took it, linking her fingers with his.

  “What’s up?” she asked when they were far enough away from the others.

  “I need to make a few stops on the way,” he told her. “Are you okay with that?”

  She nodded. It was obvious from his facial expression that he felt whatever these stops were for was important.

  “Care to tell me?”

  “I hid some journals,” Gideon said. “I’d like to pick those up. The notes will come in handy when we get a lab set up in Oklahoma. And I have a few places I want to check in. Shifters I want to speak with myself. One of them lives where I left the journals.”

  “Friends? You should have said something, Gideon,” she admonished. “Of course, we’ll go talk to your friends.”

  “These guys aren’t exactly friends,” Gideon warned. “You think I was a bastard when I got here. These three make me look like a cuddly kitten.”

  “So why stop and see them?” Vic asked.

  “They need to know what we suspect about Thomas. All of it,” Gideon said.

  There was only one reason Gideon would feel they were that important, at least only one that came to her mind.

  “They were with you,” Vic said softly.

  He nodded.

  “In the cages? You didn’t say anyone else left with you.”

  “Their stories aren’t mine to tell. There were hundreds of cages in that place. Only five of us walked out. Thomas and I went one way, and they went another. I’ve checked in with them from time-to-time. I never told Thomas that. I’m glad I didn’t, now.”

  “Yeah, I’ll go with you,” she said. “They… We could invite them to Oklahoma. They might have more information. Things that could help us.”