Rise of the Jaguar

by Elizabeth Kelly

  “Yes,” Clay said.

  “Have you ever been to Emerald Lake?” she said.

  “No.”

  “I haven’t either,” she said. “But I know the address of his house. I’ve had to send cleaners and repairmen there before. It’s only a couple of hours' drive from the city. If we teleported to Eastbourne, we could rent a car and be there by tonight.”

  “We?” Kat said. “You’re not going, Em. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Kat, I love you, but you need to stop telling me what to do,” Emerson said. “I’m going with Clay. If Jonathan is there, he’ll need my help.”

  “If Jonathan is there, then there will also be men guarding him. Shifters or humans with guns,” Kat said. “You’re not -”

  “Stop, Kat,” Emerson said. She shook her head at the look on Clay’s face. “Don’t agree with her, Clay. I’m going with you.”

  He cleared his throat. “I could teleport right now and leave you here.”

  Her jaguar growled, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “How will you find the lake house? I’m the only one who knows the address.”

  “Damn,” Ronin said. “She’s got you by the short and curlies, dude.”

  Clay scowled at her, but she didn’t care if he was angry with her. She wasn’t budging on this.

  “What happens if Wilson isn’t at the warehouse tonight?” Bishop said. “Couldn’t he just say he had no idea his warehouse was used to ship the serum?”

  “It won’t matter,” Bren said. “He’ll still be considered an accessory to the crime, and a judge will have no problem signing off on warrants to search his personal devices, his home, and the rest of the warehouse. I don’t care how good he’s been at hiding his drug smuggling, there’ll be evidence tying him to it, and Li Jie is very good at his job. He’ll find the evidence, and Granger will go to prison for life.”

  “Are you sure this police colleague of yours, Li Jie, will show up just because we say something is going down at the warehouse?” Mal said.

  “Yes, but to be certain, call me as soon as you see them loading the serum, and I’ll call Li Jie,” Bren said.

  He glanced at his watch before standing. “I need to get back to the station. Mal, you have my number. Call me as soon as they show up.”

  “I will,” Mal said.

  Emerson waited until Bren was gone. “I didn’t want to say this in front of the detective, but there’s an empty office building behind the warehouse. It’s scheduled for demolition, but that isn’t until next month. There’s a security guard who drives by every hour or so, but that’s it for security. If you break into the building, you can keep an eye on the loading zone behind the warehouse without worrying about being seen or smelled.”

  Ronin gave Kat a gleeful grin. “See, Kitten, I told you that internet course I took on lock picking would come in handy.”

  “Okay,” Mal said, “the four of us will stake out the warehouse tonight, and Clay and Emerson will drive to Granger’s lake house to look for Jonathan. If all goes well, by this time tomorrow, Granger and Grimes will be sitting in a jail cell, and Clay will have his brother back.”

  “Em,” Clay said. “You should go with your sister.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m going with you, Clay, end of story.”

  She could smell his exasperation, but he just nodded before turning to Mal. “Grimes’s text said he would bring the serum at eight.”

  “We should be in place a few hours beforehand, in case they show up early,” Mal said.

  “I’ll teleport all of you within a few blocks from the warehouse, and then Em and I will head to the lake house,” Clay said.

  “Christ,” Ronin said with a groan. “Fucking teleporting. Remind me to bring a barf bag, Kitten.”

  Wilson set his phone down and rubbed at his temples. He had a headache starting, and if he weren’t careful, it would turn into one of his specials - the kind where he laid in a dark room, vomiting and praying for death.

  He drank some water as Dax studied him from across the dining room table. He didn’t like the way the big cat shifter watched him like he’d decided Wilson was weak just because he’d had too much to drink at the charity event.

  “What?” he said irritably.

  “You okay?” Dax said.

  “Fine,” he said.

  “It isn’t like you to drink at the charity events, let alone get completely wasted.”

  He glared at Dax. “Watch your fucking mouth, Dax.”

  “It’s the truth,” Dax said. “Williams told me about the two women you were drinking with.”

  “What about them?”

  “Just seems weird that they’d spend the entire night with you only to disappear the minute you leave to take a piss.”

  “Do me a favour?” Wilson said wearily. “Mind your fucking business about my personal life.”

  Before Dax could reply, one of his security men – Wilson had no idea what his name was and didn’t care – stepped into the room. “Mr. Granger, he wants to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  The man grimaced and removed his earplugs. “Sorry, what was that?”

  “What does he want to talk to me about?”

  “He wouldn’t say, but he hasn’t eaten since yesterday. Says he’s going on a hunger strike or some shit like that until you meet with him.”

  “He’ll eat when he’s hungry enough,” Dax said.

  Wilson rubbed at his temples again. “Bring him to me.”

  Dax scowled but didn’t say anything, just pulled a pair of earplugs from his pocket and stuck them in his ears. Wilson reached up and turned off both hearing aids. The world went silent. Considering how bad his fucking headache was, that wasn’t a bad thing.

  When the man returned with Owen, Wilson smiled pleasantly at him. “Hello, Owen. I hear you’re not eating.”

  “I want to see Jonathan,” Owen said.

  “You can video chat with him on Sunday like you always do,” Wilson said.

  “No. I want to see him today.”

  Wilson sighed. “If I agree to allow you to video chat today, will you start eating again? Or will you continue to act like a spoiled little brat?”

  “Not video chat,” Owen said. “I want to see him in person. Today.”

  “No,” Wilson said. “If that’s everything, then you can return to your room and consider -”

  “Either I see Jonathan today, or I never push anyone for you again,” Owen said.

  Wilson cocked his head, studying Owen in the dead silence of his world before picking up his phone. “I could kill Jonathan right now with a single text.”

  Owen paled but didn’t back down. “If you kill him, I’ll kill myself.”

  “How?” Wilson said. “You have no weapons.”

  “I don’t need a weapon to kill myself. I’ll starve myself to death if I have to.”

  “I don’t have to kill your boyfriend,” Wilson said. “I could just hurt him until he wishes he were dead. Make you watch as I hurt him.”

  Owen’s face had gone grey, and his body trembled wildly. A tingle of admiration went through Wilson when Owen said, “Let me see him in person, or I’m done pushing for you.”

  “Fine,” Wilson said briskly. “I’ll take you to see him today. We leave in an hour. Take Owen back to his room.”

  The man led Owen out of the dining room. Wilson waited nearly two minutes before turning his hearing aids back on. The world blared into life, and he winced as his head throbbed.

  Dax removed his earplugs and said, “What was that about?”

  “You need to learn to read lips,” Wilson said.

  “What did he want?” Dax said.

  “Get a car ready, Dax. We’re leaving with Owen in an hour.”

  “Leaving for where?” Dax said.

  “The lake house.”

  Dax growled in surprise. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “No, I’m not. Owen refuses to use his remarkable power until I allow h
im to see Jonathan in person.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have to fucking do it,” Dax said. “If you want Owen to start pushing again, give me ten minutes alone in a room with Jonathan while Owen watches. I guaran-fucking-tee you, Owen will push whoever the fuck you want him to after that.”

  “You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar,” Wilson said.

  “Don’t give me that bullshit,” Dax said. “Taking Owen to see Jonathan is a terrible idea.”

  “Enough,” Wilson said. “I appreciate your opinion on the matter, but that’s all it is… an opinion. Allowing Owen to see Jonathan will do more good than harm. I have a dozen shipments to move in the next month or so, and I need Owen for it. One fucking sentence from him, and those assholes are paying triple the amount they should to ship the product, and giving me fifty percent of their drug profits for doing nothing. So, if letting Owen see his boyfriend means I keep increasing my profits, I’m going to do it.”

  “You don’t need to go,” Dax said. “I’ll take him.”

  “I want to go. I haven’t been to the lake house in months.”

  Dax rolled his eyes. “I get that you’re feeling sentimental about your childhood vacation home, but it’s a two hour drive. It’s dangerous to be in the vehicle with Owen for that long.”

  “No more dangerous than a fifteen minute drive,” Wilson said. “I’ll have my hearing aids turned off, and we’ll gag him for the trip if it makes you feel better.”

  “The serum shipment is tonight. Shouldn’t you be at the warehouse for it?”

  “When am I ever at the warehouse for shipments?” Wilson said. “This serum is no different from our regular shipments. I don’t need to be there. I trust Boyle and his team to do what they always do.”

  “Wilson -”

  “Enough, Dax. I’m going with you. We’ll spend the night, give Owen time with Jonathan, and come back in the morning.”

  “We only have two men at the lake house right now. I’ll bring up another four and -”

  Wilson’s stomach churned at the thought of more men surrounding him, and his patience took a header down a dark well. “No. You and the other two will be enough. It’s bad enough that I am surrounded by men day in and day out in my own home because at any moment, a fucking teleporter might appear in my office. I will get my fucking peace and quiet at my fucking lake house, Dax. Do you understand?”

  “Perfectly,” Dax snapped.

  “Good.” His head throbbing and aching, Wilson pointed at the door. “Get the car ready.”

  Chapter 25

  “You know, you didn’t have to drive. You could have just told me the address once we got in the car.” Clay reached over and took Emerson’s hand, linking their fingers together.

  “And have you kick me out of the car and drive away? No way,” Emerson said.

  He squeezed her hand until she glanced at him. “I wouldn’t have done that to you, Em.”

  She smiled a little as she stared out the windshield. “You would have, honey. And I get why you would, but it still wouldn’t have stopped me from kicking your ass when I caught up to you in the second rental car and ran you off the road.”

  He laughed, a little amazed by his ability to find anything funny considering how wound up he was. Even though he knew the lake house was a long shot, he couldn’t stop hoping that maybe Jonathan was there. Saving Owen’s boyfriend meant saving Owen. He’d spent the last two years trying first to find his brother, and then rescue him. Knowing he was potentially so close to saving him wrecked havoc on his nerves and his emotions.

  If he fucked this up…

  No, he wouldn’t think that way. He wasn’t going to fuck anything up. Owen was the only person that mattered to him, and he would save his brother or die trying.

  Only Owen?

  He glanced across the car, studying the curve of Emerson’s mouth.

  No, not just Owen. Not anymore.

  She’d told him she loved him. She’d said those words without a trace of doubt. She’d looked him in the eye and told him she loved him, despite knowing everything about him. Despite knowing his past.

  He’d been shocked to his core when she said it. Could she tell? Maybe, but he had a feeling she had no idea the depth of emotion he’d felt when she’d said those three little words. It had rolled over him in a sweeping, dizzying tide that made him off balance in a way that teleporting never would.

  Was this emotion love? It didn’t match how he felt about Owen and his parents. It was sweeter, stronger… different somehow.

  Don’t pretend you don’t understand it, you idiot. You know you love her.

  Emerson glanced at him again. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You could stay in the car while I check out the house,” he said. “If it looks clear or -”

  “No,” she said. “I’m not staying in the car.”

  “I could tie you to the seat.”

  “Kinky,” she said, “Maybe we can try that later in the privacy of our bedroom, but if you tie me to the car seat, I’ll shift and slice through the ropes before you can even blink.”

  “I don’t have any rope anyway,” he said.

  Now it was her turn to laugh, and he squeezed her hand again as the GPS told her to take the next left in its creepy disembodied voice. She slowed and took a left off the highway onto a range road. “We’ll be there in about twenty minutes, I think. I know there’s a private road leading to the house. It’s gated, but there aren’t any security guards at the gate. You have to punch in a code to open it.”

  “Do you remember the code?”

  “No, but I’m pretty sure Wilson changes it on the regular anyway,” Emerson said.

  “Any cameras at the gate?”

  “Not the I’m aware of, but maybe we won’t walk right up to it, just in case.”

  He smiled a little. “Yeah, maybe not.”

  They drove in silence for another fifteen minutes before Emerson said. “I think the private road to the house is up here on the left.”

  “Drive by it at a normal speed,” he said. “Go around the bend in the road and then pull over.”

  She drove by the road, the GPS announcing robotically that they had arrived at their destination. Two security lights just above the gate pushed back the dark enough that he could scan the gate and fencing as Emerson drove by. The plain iron fencing was about eight feet high. He didn’t see any cameras, but there were plenty of places in the surrounding trees to hide them.

  Emerson drove around the bend and then pulled the car to the side of the road. She unbuckled her seat belt. “Ready?”

  He was tempted to ask her once more to stay in the car but refrained. Instead, he leaned over and pressed a kiss against her mouth. She returned his kiss, cupping his face and brushing her lips over his repeatedly.

  When he pulled back, she smiled at him. “Clay, I…”

  “What?” he said.

  Her smile was sweet with a tinge of sadness. “Nothing. Let’s go check out the house.”

  Holding hands, they crossed the road and down into the ditch, wading through the knee-deep snow, before walking into the heavily wooded area.

  “This should bring us about twenty feet away from the gate,” he said. “If there are cameras, it’s doubtful there will be any this far down.”

  The darkness made it impossible for him to see anything beyond a few feet. But Emerson walked confidently, leading them around trees and past bushes without faltering. It took them only a few minutes to reach the fence. Emerson scanned the trees around them for cameras and then inhaled a few times deeply. “I don’t see any cameras or smell any humans.”

  He studied the other side of the fence, his night vision improved enough that he could see enough of the landscape to find the hum. “Good. I’ll get us on the other side, and we’ll -”

  Emerson crouched and then leaped up and over the fence, landing on the other side of it with a soft thud.

  “Holy shit,” he sa
id.

  She grinned at him through the fencing. “I figured I’d skip the teleport thing.”

  He teleported to her side of the fence. “What you just did was fucking hot.”

  She laughed. “Thank you, I think.”

  He checked his watch. “They should be arriving with the serum at the warehouse in about five minutes.”

  Worry flashed across her face before she took a deep breath. “It’ll be fine. They won’t even have to go near them, right? They’re just going to call the police.”

  “Yes,’ he said. “They’ll be okay, Em.”

  Holding hands again, Emerson led him toward the house. He could see his breath, and his toes were starting to freeze in his boots, but despite the frigid air and the snow on the ground, the lake hadn’t frozen over yet. He could hear the gentle lap of the water to their right as they drew closer to the light flickering in the trees.

  They stopped behind a large pine tree and studied the house. It was two stories high with a large balcony on the second floor, overlooking the lake. On the main level, floor-to-ceiling windows made up the wall that faced the lake. Light blazed from the windows, casting light and shadows across the back yard and illuminating a black SUV parked in front of the house.

  “Is that Wilson’s car?” he said to Emerson.

  She studied the SUV. “It could be, but I doubt it. He’s used security in the past for different events he’s gone to, and they used the same type of vehicle.” Her voice rose with excitement. “If he has security here, that probably means Jonathan is here, right?”

  “Maybe,” he said. “I’ll teleport next to the garage, see if I can get a look inside the house.”

  A light flickered on above the second-floor balcony. The sliding glass doors opened, and a redheaded man with a slender build stepped out onto the balcony. He stared out at the lake as Em said, “Maybe that’s Jonathan. He doesn’t look like a security guy.”

  Happiness and relief soared through Clay when Owen stepped out onto the balcony. His brother stood behind the redhead and put his arms around him, kissing the back of his neck before they both stared silently at the lake.

  “Clay,” Em whispered. “Oh my God…”