Jameson
War Cats, Book Three
Grace Brennan
Contents
Other books by Grace Brennan
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Coming Soon
Other books by Grace Brennan
Acknowledgments
About the Author
JAMESON
Copyright 2018 © Grace Brennan
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All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of Grace Brennan.
Cover Design: Tracie Douglas of Dark Water Covers
Other books by Grace Brennan
War Cats
Zane
Karis
Rocky River Fighters
Heart of a Fighter
Fighting for Keeps
Fight Song
Fighting to Win
Bear Claw Shifters
Starry Night Sky
One Sunny Day
Misty Autumn Morning
Red Moon Shifters
Unexpected Mates
Temporary Mates
Forever Mates
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Chapter One
Cadence Daniels tightened her hands on the steering wheel, alarm filling her as her ancient Chevy shuddered and groaned.
“Shit, shit, shit, not now,” she muttered, trying to control the rising panic she felt.
According to her old-school map, she was out in the middle of nowhere, too far from Denver for her car to be acting up. The odds of finding a mechanic, or someone who could resurrect her car from the dead—which was what she suspected would need to happen—out here was nonexistent, and she didn’t have the cash to call someone in from the city. By her reckoning, she was at least an hour, if not more, away.
And she had to get off the road, needed to be holed up in some nondescript motel, hidden in a city. Not in the middle of nowhere, exposed, where anyone who happened by wouldn’t be able to help seeing her. Winston could find her easily, and she’d be a sitting duck. She knew he was somehow managing to find her. He could be on the road behind her this very second—
No. She covered her tracks well when she left Oklahoma, the last place she’d hidden and tried to make a life. He wouldn’t be able to find her again. But then, she wasn’t sure how he found her there, so she knew she wasn’t totally safe and free. Not like she so naively assumed when she settled in Tulsa.
Breathing deeply through her panic, she pulled over on the side of the road, shutting the engine down so it could cool off. It’d been overheating for the last two hundred miles or so, and no matter how much coolant she put in it, it kept getting too hot. It probably had a leak, and she planned on getting it checked in Denver, but she had to freakin’ make it there first.
Grabbing the map on the passenger seat, she gazed at it, trying to figure out where she was. She knew she had to be fairly close, but the road signs were few and far between out here, and the odometer in the car didn’t work anymore, so she had no way to check the mileage she’d driven today. She was hoping she’d find a town between here and Denver she could stop at, but there were none between the last place she stopped and Denver. Shit. She just might be screwed, maybe even for good this time.
Putting the map down, she tried to calm herself by looking at the scenery. Even in her panic, she noticed the beauty of her surroundings. Colorado was gorgeous, and part of her longed to stay here. But it was too close to Tulsa for her to ever feel safe. Her plan was to ultimately settle in Montana for now, close to the border. Hell, if her ID didn’t trip shit and make it obvious where she was, she’d go all the way into Canada. It wasn’t possible, though, so she planned to stay in Montana long enough to get a job and replenish her rapidly dwindling cash supply before moving on to Washington. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to settle anywhere permanently. Moving every few months seemed the wisest course of action.
The tension in her shoulders had eased minutely when she noticed how beautiful the sun was, slowly easing behind the mountain and casting a golden glow over the land. But that made her realize just how close night was to falling, and she tensed right back up, temples beginning to pound, as she fully realized her situation. She was very close to being stranded on the side of a wooded road, with no town in sight and no help showing up that she would ever trust, if help even came at all, in full darkness.
Her stomach cramped, but she wasn’t sure if it was from her emotions or hunger. When was the last time she ate? She couldn’t remember, and that wasn’t good. She was rationing her money and food, but she absolutely couldn’t forget to eat. Taking a protein bar out of the bag on the passenger seat, she munched the bland food, dusting her hands off before popping the hood. It seemed like enough time had gone past, so she’d top off the coolant and get back on the road, hopefully making it to Denver tonight.
Quickly doing what she needed, she got back in the car and sent a little prayer toward Heaven as she started it. Relief filled her as the engine reluctantly caught. It hadn’t wanted to turn over, like always, but it did, and seemed to run a little smoother than it had when she pulled over.
Taking a deep breath, she made sure no one was coming, but the road was as deserted as it had been for the last hour or so. Pulling out, she relaxed as much as she was able as she drove. This could work. The fates hadn’t been in her corner for longer than she cared to remember, but surely, she was due for some good fortune.
Ten minutes later, she was cursing a blue streak as the car began its shuddering and groaning routine again. Her fix hadn’t lasted long at all, and she definitely wasn’t much closer to Denver than she was when she pulled over on the side of the road. Shit, what was she going to do?
Knuckles white on the steering wheel, she thought hard. She’d find a side road and pull off, hidden from the main road. Maybe spend the night in the car, as antsy and terrified as the thought made her. But the car needed to completely cool off, and she didn’t want to risk thinking it had and driving again, only for it to do this again in complete darkness. Better to find a secluded spot to stop now, when it was still dusk and light enough to see.
After anoth
er nerve-wracking five minutes, she finally spotted a side road. Turning down it, she saw a bend in the road and drove toward it, thinking she’d park once she was past it, hopefully hiding her car further from the main road.
Rounding the bend, she slowed to a stop, confusion filling her. Squinting, she blinked hard, but it didn’t disappear. There was a town in front of her. Frowning, she saw a small sign that read Durga Valley, and she picked up her map, scouring for any hint of a town with that name. But it was the same as before. There was nothing on the map that indicated any towns at all, and the name was nowhere to be found.
Glancing back up, she took it in again. Oddly, there was a large double-sided gate, but it was open wide. She’d heard of gated communities, but never a gated town. Strange, that and the fact that it wasn’t on the map. But maybe it was newly built, established after the map was printed. She didn’t have an explanation for why it would have a gate, but after a moment’s thought, she decided it didn’t matter. She didn’t have many more options. No telling how much farther her car could go.
Putting her foot on the gas pedal, she eased forward. Normally, this wasn’t the kind of place she’d stop, but she didn’t have much choice at this point. It was twilight, her car was on the verge of giving up the ghost, and if she didn’t stop here, she’d end up going with her original plan and sleeping in the car on the side of the road. At least here, there was the possibility of a bed, and hopefully a mechanic.
And most importantly, she’d be surrounded by people. If, God forbid, Winston was on her trail and managed to catch up to her, she wouldn’t be such an easy target, not like she’d be alone, on a deserted road at night.
Her stomach cramped again, but even though she was still hungry, she knew that wasn’t the reason why this time.
Slowly driving through the quaint town, she glanced around, hoping to find a sign for a motel. Her frown grew, along with her confusion and uneasiness, as she looked around. Everyone was dressed oddly. The men wore tunic style shirts and linen pants, and the women were wearing—well, she didn’t know what they were wearing, but it looked like outfits she’d seen in Bollywood films. Indian outfits, with midriff baring tops, and long skirts with sashes thrown over their shoulders. All bright, colorful, and very pretty, if a little odd. Scratch little and make that very odd, for a small town in Colorado.
The buildings weren’t those of a typical town, either. The homes looked like cottages, and the businesses were all gray stone and unique, not like the normal, generic stores usually found in towns and cities.
Okay, clearly this was a different kind of place. Possibly a community of people from India. Maybe that’s why there were gates on the road leading in—to discourage outsiders from visiting. They’d been open, but still, maybe that was the purpose.
Sighing in frustration, she found a parking spot outside of a restaurant and pulled in. Clearly, she couldn’t stay here, and judging by some of the looks she was getting, some confused, some suspicious and borderline hostile, she wouldn’t be welcome. She’d give the car a few minutes to cool, add some more coolant, and then leave and follow through on her original plan. Find a side road, hide as best she could, and sleep in the car.
Turning off the engine, she watched as people walked by, eyes narrowed. From what little she could see, the men were arrogant and aloof, although it seemed strange to sense that with no interaction with them. But it was a vibe they were putting off that led her to that conclusion. And the women… well, they were for the most part quiet, and she’d barely seen one who was smiling or even talking. So weird, but she didn’t know their culture. Maybe this was normal.
She continued to study them for a few more minutes, the steady stream of foot traffic dwindling. She’d seen a few people in normal clothing, jeans and t-shirts, but not many. Deciding she’d waited long enough, and growing more uneasy with the encroaching darkness, Cadence popped the hood and shoved her creaky door open. She tried to shut it gently, but rust flakes still rained to the ground. Rolling her eyes, she got the coolant out of the backseat and sat it on the ground by the front bumper.
She’d just lifted the hood and uncapped the bottle when someone bumped into her from behind. Losing her grip on the bottle, she watched with dismay as it fell to the ground, its precious contents spilling out.
Cursing, she reached for it, but someone beat her to it. A woman with dark hair and beautiful caramel colored skin picked it up, an apologetic look on her face as she glanced at Cadence.
“I’m so, so sorry. I stumbled and fell into you on accident. I didn’t mean to, I swear.”
“It’s okay,” she replied with a forced smile as she accepted the jug. It felt incredibly light, and she glanced into the bottle, unable to help cursing again as she saw the contents. It had been half full when she dropped it, and now it had maybe a quarter of an inch in it. Not nearly as much as she needed. She doubted she could get a mile down the road on that with the way her car was acting.
Shoulders drooping, emotions bombarded her as she fought the urge to cry. This day, hell, the whole fucking year, could go to hell. What the hell was she going to do now?
“Hey,” the woman said softly, laying a gentle hand on Cadence’s arm. “Are you okay?”
Squaring her shoulders, she nodded. This wasn’t the end of the world, and hopefully she could fix it. And she refused to fall apart in front of a stranger. That was reserved for when she was alone, lying in bed at night.
“I’m fine. Do you have an auto parts store, or any store really, where I can get more coolant?”
The girl looked at her apologetically. “Everything’s closed for the night. We don’t have anything besides restaurants that stay open late, and even those are closing now.”
Even as she spoke, the lights turned off at the restaurant in front of them. Crap. There went the possibility of maybe finding a decent meal before she left, too. Turning her head, she eyed her car dubiously.
“All right. Maybe if I can get it started, it will run long enough to make it to the next town.”
Wincing, the woman shook her head. “The next closest place is Denver, and it’s over an hour away.” She studied her before holding out her hand. “I’m Tarun Campbell. You are…?”
Cadence’s mind blanked, and she almost gave her real name, which wouldn’t be smart. Thinking frantically, she shook her head helplessly as she blurted, “Cady Alexander.” Close enough to the truth that she wouldn’t trip up, not that she’d be here long enough for that to happen. A nickname from her childhood, and one of her foster parents’ last names.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cady. Do you think your car can make it to Denver? You seemed to need the liquid I spilled.”
“It might.” Pausing, she looked around, before speaking hesitantly. “Is there maybe a hotel I can stay at for the night?”
Tarun shook her head regretfully. “No, we don’t have one. We don’t get many visitors, not enough to need one. But when we do, they stay at my house. You’re welcome to spend the night there.”
“Oh, no,” she replied, shaking her head and resigning herself to attempting to drive farther. “I couldn’t impose. Maybe I can put water in it. It should work as well.”
“But it might not. And you don’t want to discover that down the road, when it’s dark outside. Come on, stay with me. It’s the least I can do, since this was my fault.”
Cadence hesitated, debating the wisdom of staying with someone she just met, in a strange town. It seemed an epically bad idea, all things considered. But really, was sleeping in her car on the side of the road any better? “Are you sure? This seems like a… well, a different kind of place,” she said, gesturing at Tarun in her Bollywood outfit.
Tarun glanced down in surprise before letting out a light laugh. “I forgot I was wearing a sari. I don’t wear them much anymore, but we had a ceremony tonight, and we all dress traditionally when we attend. Durga is steeped in Indian history, and a lot of the women do still wear them, but not all of us.”
So that’s what her outfit was called. “This is the first time I’ve seen one outside of a Bollywood movie.”
Tarun laughed again. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure the average American doesn’t see them often. So what do you say? You can stay the night, and my brother can look at your car in the morning. He’s good at that sort of thing. Surely there’s something more wrong if you need to keep adding liquids to it.”
“I don’t know,” she replied, still hesitating. Her stomach let out a loud growl, and she blushed as she put her hand over it.
“Okay, that settles it. You’re obviously hungry, and there’s nowhere to eat, or sleep, for miles. You can stay with us, I’ll feed you, and you can get a good night’s sleep. You look like you can use it.”
She definitely did. And she didn’t think Winston could find her here tonight. It was too far off the beaten path, and the fact that it wasn’t on a map was a huge bonus. He wouldn’t even know to look here. That, more than anything, was what made up her mind. “All right. If you’re sure it’s no imposition.”
“None at all. I owe you. Do you mind if I ride with you? That might be easier than me trying to give you directions.”
She hesitated for a moment, but hell, she was going to stay at Tarun’s house. Letting her in the car wasn’t a big deal at all compared to that. “Sure. It’s unlocked, so you can get in.”
Jameson Page 1