by Bianca D'Arc
Patty sighed heavily before answering. “Greg promised Maryann a vacation to Mexico, but when they got there, she found out it was really a drug run. She didn’t want to do it, but she had no choice. Greg became abusive at that point, and she’s not strong enough to stand up to him—or anyone, really. She’s a broken bear, though she still has all the enhanced abilities. She can shift, but her bear is afraid of everything and everyone. Greg picked his mark well. The bastard.”
“So your sister broke the law and this is why you haven’t told Ty or Van about it?”
She touched her finger to her nose and then pointed at him. She had the cutest mannerisms, but now wasn’t the time to be distracted by how much he loved her.
Whoa. Wait a minute.
Love?
His jaguar thought about it for a millisecond, then swished its tail in his mind, agreeing. He was in love with her.
To hell with the seriousness of the moment. Mario leaned over and kissed her.
Much to his delight, she responded in kind. Her fingers were driving him wild, stroking over his chest as if she was petting him. His inner cat liked that. It liked it a lot.
He was just settling down to enjoy himself when one of the phones on the coffee table rang. It played an annoying tune that blared out through the living room.
Mario drew back, sighing as he looked at the offensive piece of technology that was also vibrating, doing a little dance across the surface of the table. He didn’t want to do this now, but then again, there was no time like the present.
“Should we answer it?” Patty looked at the phone, then back at Mario, her lip caught adorably between her teeth.
Mario moved away from her and placed both hands on his knees. “Yeah. I’ve got a few things to say to whoever those guys work for.”
He reached forward and picked up the phone.
Chapter Ten
Patty wasn’t sure what Mario’s plan was. She wasn’t even sure he had a plan. She prayed to the Goddess that he wasn’t just messing around, making things worse for Maryann, but she didn’t think he’d do that. She had a bit of faith in him now. Her instincts told him he was a capable man, who knew what he was doing. She just wished he’d told her the plan before it was put into motion.
He answered the phone and started speaking in rapid-fire Spanish with whoever was on the other end of the line. Her shifter hearing didn’t help much when she couldn’t understand the language. Spanish wasn’t her strong suit, which she regretted now. She knew a few words, but they were simply talking way too fast for her to pick out more than a couple here or there. She was lost, and she had to wait for Mario to explain after the fact, which irritated her.
Mario had an odd grin on his face when he finally ended the call. He touched the off button and then just sat there for a moment, looking at her strangely. She wanted to know what was going on.
“Well?” She almost yelled, but managed to hold on to her emotions by a bare thread.
“This is going to turn out better than I expected.” He put the phone back on the table and sat back, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary.
“How so?” Was he going to make her work for every last bit of information? She’d bite him if he kept her waiting much longer—and not in a good way.
“Turns out, our friends napping next door work for a rival of a man I know. More importantly, my acquaintance, Escobar, owes me big. I think it’s time to give him a call.” He reached for his own phone and scrolled through the contact list. “Especially since I already mentioned him to the opposition.”
“Was that wise?” Patty’s anxiety level ratcheted upward as she thought through the different scenarios. Problem was, she didn’t know all the players or their roles in the plan Mario had put into motion.
“I think this is probably the opportunity he’s been waiting for. If I gauged this right—and I believe I did—then Escobar will solve your sister’s little problem for us and thank me for the intel. His rival is stretched thin right now. It’s a good time to strike.”
A cunning look had entered Mario’s eyes. Like a panther on the prowl, but he was something else entirely…
“So…you’re a jaguar?”
“Guilty as charged.” He nodded, an emerald gleam in his eyes.
“I thought jaguar shifters were really rare. My history lessons said a lot of your people were wiped out when Europeans came to the Americas.” She was intrigued by the origins of different shifter groups. Always had been.
“Sad, but true. Still, there are quite a few of us in the mountains, hidden away in hard-to-reach enclaves.
“That’s good,” she replied. “But I take it you didn’t grow up in one of those mountain villages?”
“No, querida. I didn’t.” He stood, taking his phone with him. “Let me make this call first, then we can talk about anything you want to know.”
Mario paced to the window that faced the side yard—and the house next door—and made the call. Once again, the conversation was in rapid Spanish that she couldn’t follow, but this one had more friendly overtones than the previous call. There was even a bit of laughter and Mario smiled a time or two. It appeared to her that the call was going well.
When he hung up, the cunning smile held. “It will take him a few hours to mobilize his men, but he’s very pleased with what I just told him.”
“Which was?” She raised one eyebrow in challenge. She didn’t like not knowing what he’d done.
“Peace, querida. I think you’re going to like the outcome of this action.” He walked toward her and took both of her hands in his, raising her gently from the couch. “Do you think your Itan will cooperate? We need to put the two burglars from next door in a holding cell until tonight.”
“What if they talk?” She didn’t like the sound of this. If those two made statements about Maryann’s involvement…
“They won’t. Men like that are not paid to think. I doubt they even know what they’re here to do besides retrieve the drugs and kill the couriers. And believe me, they’re not going to be telling cops about that.”
He had a point. It freaked her out that those two guys next door had probably been sent to kill her little sister, but Mario seemed to take it all in stride.
“So what happens then?” It was Mario’s plan and he was the one with the experience in these sorts of situations. She realized she was glad to have his guidance.
“Ty can let them go on a technicality this evening. By then, Escobar’s men will be in place to scoop them up.”
“I don’t want anybody killed because of this,” she was quick to point out, even if her inner bear wanted the blood of anyone who threatened its fractured sister.
“Such low level players are not worth killing. Escobar knows this. He is a man of some principle, even if he is a criminal. He will not kill them, but he will use them as leverage, and find out what they know.”
“But what if more come? How can you be sure they’ll stop pursuing Maryann and the drugs?” She didn’t like not knowing all the players in the game.
“Escobar will ensure it. His rival—an evil little man named Lopez—will be far too busy trying to keep his little empire together. Of the two, I’d rather see Escobar in control of Lopez’s patch. Lopez, as you might already have guessed, has no conscience whatsoever. The world would be a better place without him in it and Escobar has been waiting for an opportunity. We just handed him one.”
“You said this Lopez was stretched thin right now. Is that because he’s trying to move into new territory, and Greg and my little sister were helping him do it?”
He mimicked her earlier motion by pointing to his nose and then at her. The gesture looked so odd coming from him that she had to smile.
“Are you laughing at me, querida?” He prowled closer to her, caging her in his arms.
“Not at you, exactly,” she hedged while he drew even closer, pressing his lips to hers.
She was more than ready to get lost in his kiss, but he drew awa
y, much to her disappointment.
“I’m sorry, mi osito. We don’t have the luxury of time right now.” He softened his words by caressing her cheek with the side of his finger. It was a light touch that sent little shivers down her spine. “Do you think Ty will play along with my plan?”
Mention of her boss brought her back to her senses. She thought about how the Itan might react to this situation.
“If it saves the clan trouble, I think Ty can be convinced,” she allowed, as Mario moved away, putting space between them.
“Would you like to make the call?” he offered, surprising her.
Then again, Mario had already proven that he respected her abilities. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he treated her the way she had always wanted to be treated by a man—as an equal, a partner. It sent a little thrill of warmth through her tummy that he was fulfilling all her fantasies. She had just about given up on ever finding a man like this, but now it looked like maybe dreams really did come true sometimes.
“Yeah. It’ll be better coming from me, I think.” Patty reached for her phone and started punching in the familiar number.
Chapter Eleven
Patty’s first day with her new lover wasn’t anything like she’d expected it would be. Instead of waking up to sexy times and cuddles, they were dealing with paid assassins and international intrigue. It all seemed old hat to Mario, but Patty was, and always had been, a small town girl. She might be a police officer, but the occasional brawl and domestic disturbance she dealt with was nothing like this.
She had called home first thing when she got back from next door, and all was well with Maryann. She’d given Aunt Suzy a quick rundown of events, and even though the situation with the bad guys was unexpected, Aunt Suzy still found time to quiz her about her wild night with the wildcat.
Patty had been surprised to find herself blushing as she fended off the older woman’s teasing questions and innuendoes. It had been far too long since Aunt Suzy had ribbed her like that and they both enjoyed the girl talk, which wasn’t normal fare for Patty in her male-dominated profession. She’d finished her call before Mario had returned from next door, thank goodness. She would’ve been mortified if he’d heard her aunt teasing her about being with him. Some things were better left unknown.
And then he’d come back, and events had started to unfold in rapid succession. Now, the Itan and Enforcer were on their way here, and they’d realize at first glance that she’d been doing the wild thing with Mario all night long.
Oh, boy. Was she ready for them to know? She wasn’t sure. But either way, it was going to happen. She tried to psych herself up for the confrontation.
When Ty and Van arrived, she made coffee for the guys, knowing she had little to contribute after revealing the full extent of Maryann’s involvement and begging Ty to understand. He’d seemed really surprised that Maryann had been able to hold out on him, but he took it well. In fact, he commented that perhaps Maryann was getting stronger through this ordeal, which reinforced what Patty herself had been thinking.
Ty and Van had both raised their eyebrows at seeing her there, so cozy with the new cat in town, but they didn’t say anything out loud. They both seemed to respect Mario and the Itan gave her a little nod when he realized she’d stayed the night.
Mario was clearly in his element. He gave a sitrep that would make any Green Beret proud, she was sure. And he didn’t leave room for any sort of comment from the Itan or Enforcer about the company he kept. He seemed to simply take it for granted that she was with him now, and the two bears better get used to it. She felt the dominance rippling off him in a way that made her want to purr.
Purr? She was a bear. She didn’t purr. But she’d do it for Mario. Hell, she’d do just about anything for Mario, as he’d discovered last night.
After the first round of coffee had been consumed, Ty had asked Van to take care of the two miscreants, and Van had excused himself to go next door and load the men into his patrol vehicle, transporting them down to the station. The Itan stayed behind to talk with Mario and Patty.
“So you think your pal Escobar will take care of this problem for us?” Ty said after hearing the bare bones of Mario’s solution. “What makes you so sure we can trust him?”
Patty drew some hope from Ty’s casual use of we in his question. He was including himself in the situation, indicating that he was willing to listen. That was more than most Itans would have given misbehaving bears in their clan, and Patty knew it. She and her family were damn lucky to be part of the Ty’s clan. They wouldn’t have fared so well in other places with other Itans.
“What I’m about to say has to stay between us,” Mario said, drawing Patty’s full attention with his serious tone. “Escobar may have dubious morals when it comes to his choice of business enterprises, but he’s…special. He’s like us. At least partly. He can’t shift, but he’s got shifter blood.”
Ty whistled through his teeth, clearly surprised. “Be that as it may, there’s got to be more than that if we’re going to trust him with this.”
“There is. Trust me, Itan, there is. He and I have a history, and like I said, I don’t always agree with how he chooses to make his money, but he’s definitely got a moral code. It’s probably not the same one you or I go by, but it’s not that far off either.”
“All I have is your word on that,” Ty reminded them.
Mario put his hands flat on the table, sitting back in his chair. “That’s true, but look at it this way. Escobar has no interest in Maryann, but he would like to take out Lopez. Lopez wants Maryann and Greg dead. In this case, the enemy of our enemy could be a very helpful friend.”
Ty seemed to bristle a bit as he thought over Mario’s words. His eyes took on the black hue of his bear for a short moment before he sighed and sat back, relaxing marginally.
“All right. Top priority now is keeping Maryann safe. Personally, I don’t care if someone takes out Greg, but he’s still one of my bears. If anyone is going to demand justice of him, it’ll be done according to clan law.”
Patty swallowed the growl that wanted to issue from her throat. Ty was one of the few bears she would follow through fire, if need be. Her bear respected the Itan’s dominance and trusted that he’d do right by Maryann and punish Greg accordingly.
“As you wish, Itan,” Mario replied with all the respect due an Itan in his home territory.
Ty stood and headed for the door. “Make whatever arrangements you need to. Just let Van know when it’s time to let those two jackasses go. The rest is up to you. It’s better if the Grayslake police department isn’t seen to have any official role in this after we release the perps.”
“Understood,” Mario rose and walked Ty out. They paused in front of the front door and shook hands. “I’ll let your Enforcer know when it’s done. If all goes well, you’ll never have to deal with Lopez, or his like, again.”
Ty nodded and left, his expression troubled. Patty knew leaving the decisive action in the hands of others probably didn’t sit well with the Itan, but she also saw the wisdom in putting some distance between Grayslake’s leadership and whatever was about to go down with the international drug war that had unexpectedly come to town.
Patty went to Mario, standing close as they both watched Ty get in his vehicle and drive away. She warmed when Mario put one arm around her shoulders. She loved when he reached out to her. Even a casual touch from him made her feel special.
“Do you really think this is going to work?” she asked him, worry for her sister getting the better of her for a moment.
Mario squeezed her shoulders. “I wouldn’t propose this course of action if I didn’t have a high opinion of its success.” He kissed her softly on the forehead, in reassurance. “It’s going to work.”
Patty borrowed Mario’s wheels to go home for a change of clothing and to check on her family. He expected her to take her time, but she was back much sooner than he thought she’d be. His inner cat liked that.
So far, it hadn’t been leading them astray. He’d gotten her right where he’d wanted her since the very first moment he saw her—in his bed.
And now it looked like they were working some kind of unexpected op together, but that was okay. He had always thought a woman who could be his partner—his equal—would be preferable in a life mate than a doormat. Having her in on this was invigorating in a way he hadn’t quite anticipated.
Oh, he didn’t like that she and her family were mixed up in potentially dangerous doings, but he loved the way she worked alongside him to solve the problem. She was smart and absolutely gorgeous. It was the perfect combination as far as he was concerned.
With nothing to do but wait, Mario laid out his cleaning kit on the kitchen table and set to work on his personal stash of weapons. He was pleased when Patty removed her own weapon, which he knew she kept concealed in a sexy little ankle holster, and sat beside him. The way she expertly disassembled parts of the small firearm, cleaned, oiled and reassembled them, was an unexpected turn on.
Who knew a woman handling a weapon could look so hot? Mario tried not to snicker to himself at the thought. He knew one weapon he’d like to see her handle again, that was for sure.
“So how is this going to go? What is your expected chain of events?” she asked quietly.
He’d outlined the basic plan when Ty was there, but he knew she wanted particulars since it looked like she was staying for the duration. Much as he would rather she be out of any possible line of fire, he had to respect that she had a personal stake in this, and that she was a professional who knew what she was doing and might actually be able to help, if things went south. He knew an Alpha female like Patty would accept no less than belief in her competence, and he wasn’t about to insult the woman he hoped would agree to be his mate.